“Simple Gifts”, a Shaker dance tune, was written in 1848 by Shaker Elder Joseph. It’s a one verse song with lyrics extolling the virtues of the simple life and reading (in part) ” ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free, ‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.” Espousing a self sufficient, communal and celibate life, they might seem strangers to this column, but somehow I feel that the title of the tune connects to the Wittlesbach diamond which was sold, at auction, for approximately $23,500,000 on December 11, 2008. An approximately 36 carat blue-gray gem (almost certainly of Indian origin), a bit of mystery surrounds it, as all the records which may have revealed its origin were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).Our knowledge of it begins in 1664 when Philip IV of Spain presented it to his daughter, the Infante Margareta Teresa, on the occasion of her engagement to her uncle, Leopold I of Austria. As such a close marital alliance was of a certain delicate morality (see the Bible, Book of Leviticus), her father’s motives in supporting the betrothal can only have been political; and perhaps the gift of so rare a diamond was made to sooth his royal conscience. At any rate, the marriage ensued in December, 1666. It was short lived as Margareta, weakened by several miscarriages as well as the births of 6 children, died in her twenty-first year. Leopold inherited the diamond and later presented it to his third wife, the Empress Eleanor Magdalena. She outlived him and bequeathed the gem to her granddaughter, the Archduchess Maria Amelia (as part of her dowry). When, in 1722, Maria married the crown prince of Bavaria, Charles Albert Wittelsbach, the diamond came to rest in the Bavarian crown jewels as the Wittelsbach family diamond. As such, it was the center piece of court splendor until the end of World War I in 1918. In the aftermath of war, Bavaria was fully incorporated into the new German republic; and Louis III of Bavaria was compelled to abdicate, the royal jewels falling into the hands of Bavaria’s new government. Oh, the Bavarian’s tried to take care of the Wittelsbachs with a “princely” stipend, but the great German inflation of 1923 destroyed its value. It was so wild an inflation that postage stamps with a face value of 50 billion Marks were issued; no matter how great the stipend provided by the Bavarian Government, the Wittelsbachs were broke. Impoverished and barred from selling any of the family’s real estate holdings, the Wittelsbach heirs petitioned the State of Bavaria for permission to sell some of the crown jewels, among them, the Wittelsbach Blue. The State’s government agreed; and the honor of auctioning them off went to the London auction house, Christie’s. In December, 1931, however, the bidders were stingy, so stingy that many think that the family “bought” it from itself under an assumed persona to keep it from being sold at a “fire sale” price. Whatever may have happened, one thing is true, at this point, the Wittelsbach Blue disappeared. It never returned to its display in Munich; and though it was rumored to have been sold (without the government’s approval) in 1932, it didn’t “officially” reappear until World War II had come and gone. It appears to have been sold in Belgium in 1951 and again in 1955 to buyers who did not know it was the Whittlesbach Blue. It was even displayed at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair without being identified; but in 1962 it was “outed”. In January Joseph Komkommer, a prominent figure in Belgium’s diamond industry, was asked to re-cut an “old mine cut” diamond. When he received it, one of the Wittlesbach’s characteristics immediately jumped out at him; it is a doublet. That is, at some point in the gem’s history someone had glued a slice of blue sapphire to the stone’s pavilion (bottom) to enhance its blue color. He refused to recut the gem as it was so historically significant; and indeed, he organized a consortium of diamond buyers to purchase it. They did, at a price of less than $400,000. Since then its whereabouts have been known, so the only question remaining is who Graff, the London Jeweler who purchased the gem, will sell it to.

O.K., the tie to “Simple Gifts” may be a stretch; but as I see it, Philip probably gave it to his daughter out of paternal love (politics were a rough business in the 17th century and Spain’s royal dynasty was falling apart); and Eleanor gave it to her granddaughter out of pure affection. This is, after all, what diamonds are all about. We give them as statements of love and affection; and in our harsh economic climate, they may be the most perfect of simple gifts. In this sense, the Hearts On Fire diamond is priceless. It is the world’s most perfectly cut diamond; and its perfect beauty makes it the perfect gift to say, “I love you perfectly!” It is the “forever” simple gift of love. Check out our Hearts On Fire diamonds on our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the simple gift that you need. We’re Hursts Berwyn Jewelers; and our job is realizing your dreams.