Sancy

Sancy

Sancy diamond (illustration from the Swedish encyclopedia Nordisk familjebok)
Weight	55.23 carats (11.046 g)
Color	Pale yellow, exact color grade not recorded.
Cut	Shield-shaped modified brilliant cut
Country of origin	India
Discovered	Before 1570
Owner	The Louvre, Paris, France

External image

Grayscale photo of Sancy diamond at Louvre website; photo’s description (in French)

The Sancy, a pale yellow diamond of 55.23 carats (11.046 g), was once reputed to have belonged to the Mughals of antiquity, but is more likely of Indian origin owing to its cut, which is unusual by Western standards.

The shield-shaped stone comprises two back-to-back crowns (the typical upper half of a stone) but lacks any semblance to a pavilion (the lower portion of a stone, below the girdle or midsection).

The Sancy's known history began circa 1570. Several sources state it belonged to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. After Charles died, in 1495 it passed to his cousin King Manuel I of Portugal. When Portugal was threatened to come under Spanish rule, claimant António, Prior of Crato fled the country with the bulk of the Portuguese Crown Jewels. He spent his life trying to get allies to regain the Portuguese throne in the French and English courts, and sold the diamond to Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy. Other sources claim that the diamond was purchased in Constantinople by de Sancy. He was popular in the French Court and was later French Ambassador to Turkey. Something of a gem connoisseur, de Sancy used his knowledge to prosperous advantage.

Henry III of France suffered from premature baldness and tried to conceal this fact by wearing a cap. As diamonds were becoming increasingly fashionable at the time, Henry arranged to borrow de Sancy's diamond to decorate his cap. Henry IV also borrowed the stone, for the more practical purpose of using it as security for financing an army. Legend has it that a messenger carrying the jewel never reached his destination, but de Sancy (by then Superintendent of Finance) was convinced that the man was loyal and had a search conducted until the site of the messenger's robbery and murder was found. When the body was disinterred, the jewel was found in the faithful man's stomach.