Thieves once tried to steal the famous Sancy diamond while in route to be loaned to Henry IV. The owner, Nicholas Harlai, Seigneur de Sancy, sent it with his loyal messenger to deliver the diamond. It is said he was attacked by thieves, but when his body was found, the stone was found in his stomach.



The legendary blue Hope diamond has always thought to have been cursed. It is believed that it was originally stolen by a thief out of the eye of a statue of a Hindu goddess, Sita.

Later in history, when the Hope diamond was inherited by Louis XVI and Marie Antionette, the diamond became well known. When the monarchs were executed in 1792, the French crown jewels were stolen and among them the Hope diamond. Although some of the items in this theft were found, at this time, the Hope diamond was not. Of coarse more stories followed this famous diamond.

There have been many books and movies about diamond thefts over the years. Probably the most recognized being the James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. Historical diamond thefts and fictional ones cannot compare to the atrocities that surround the real life Blood diamond thefts of today. Even now in Africa there are revolutionaries that have overtaken diamond mines and who persecute the people that work them. These hi- jacked diamonds are sold to fund the goals of the revolutionaries. The United Nations and other parties involved started the Kimberly Process in 2002 to try and stop these blood diamonds from reaching world wide markets. It has been successful to a degree, but a small percentage of them still manage to infiltrate diamond markets.

Some modern techniques have been developed to help in the identification process of diamonds. New laser technology can actually engrave identifying numbers or marks on the face of a diamond. These engravings can not be seen by the naked eye, but are visible with the use of a 10x magnifying glass. This can be useful if a laser engraved diamond is stolen and the thief does not know it has been engraved.

As long as there are diamonds there will probably always be diamond thieves. And like the title of that famous James Bond movie says, diamonds are forever.