A rare pink diamond, known as the "Grand Condé", is now on display in France for the first time since it was stolen almost a century ago. The nine-carat, pear-shaped gemstone was pilfered during an overnight raid on the Château de Chantilly in October 1926.
The diamond was reportedly concealed in a hollowed-out apple and recovered weeks later when a maid at the thieves' hotel took a bite of the fruit. This account, while described as far-fetched by the museum's director Mathieu Deldicque, was widely covered by newspapers at the time.
The exhibition at the Condé Museum in the Château de Chantilly will run until 3 January. The museum has conducted extensive academic study into the diamond's properties to make it uniquely identifiable, with the results forming part of the display, alongside previously unseen archive material about its history and theft.