The Archduke Joseph
This 76.45-carat diamond gets
its name from from Archduke Joseph August (1872-1962), a previous owner of the
gem and a prince of the Hungarian line of the Hapsburg dynasty. The Archduke
was a descendant of the Emperor Leopold II, son of Empress Maria Theresa who
owned the famous Florentine Diamond, one of the most notable and unique
diamonds in history and an heirloom of the Hapsburgs for many years. But
whereas the Florentine was unusually large for an Indian diamond and light
yellow in color, the Archduke Joseph is a colorless diamond; it possesses the
most notable characteristic of the best Golconda diamonds, namely a high
internal clarity. Thus its D-color certification. It is cut in a rectangular
cushion shape, perhaps a style of cutting that is not entirely unfitting with
its Indian origin.
The Archduke Joseph - better
known as Joseph of Alcsut - was the oldest son of Duke Joseph Carl Ludwig and
Princess Clothilde of Saxe-Coburg. He married Augusta in 1893, daughter of
Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Duchess of Gisela, and a granddaughter of Emperor
Franz Joseph. He began his eminent military career in 1902 when he enlisted in
the Hungarian territorial reserve, simultaneously studying law at Budapest
University. On the death of Emperor Franz Joseph he became commander of the
Hungarian front line forces during World War I, reconquering the eastern part
of Siebenburgen and initiated the negotiations for a cease-fire. In October of
1918, he was named Regent of Hungary by the Emperor Charles I, but his efforts
for forming a government were overturned by the onset of the October 31st
Revolution, whereupon he retired to his Alcsut estate. 
During the so-called "Traitor
Republic," due to his great popularity, Archduke Joseph was put under
surveillance while remaining at Alcsut. In August of 1919 he succeeded in
becoming the Regent of Hungary but was compelled to resign within two months
because the Allied Forces would not allow a Hapsburg to hold a commanding
position in Hungary. In late 1944 he emigrated to the United States and
returned to Europe to live with his sister, Princess Margaret von Thurn und
Taxis, and published several memoirs and historical studies. He died in 1962,
not completely removed from politics, having become a member of the Upper
House soon after its restoration. 
It is thought that at some
point he gave the diamond to his son, Joseph Francis (1895-1957). Minutes
taken on June 1st, 1933 record that the diamond, at the time belonging to
Archduke Joseph, was at the time deposited with the Hungarian General Credit
Bank in the presence of a state counselor. Three years later the diamond was
sold to a European banker who kept it in a safe deposit box in France during
World War II, where it fortunately escaped the attention of the Nazis.
The location of this stone remained a mystery
until it came up for auction in London in June, 1961. At the time it was
believed to be the largest loose fine quality diamond ever to have been
auctioned in Great Britain, but it was withdrawn from the sale when the
bidding stopped at £145,000. Later it was reported that a syndicate of Hatton
Garden buyers had made an unsuccessful bid for the diamond. It came up for
sale again at Christie's in Geneva in November of 1993, when it was sold for
$6,487,945. The diamond originally weighed 78.54 carats but was slightly
recut in the late-1990's by Molina Fine Jewelers down to its present
76.45-carat weight. The diamond has been graded as being Internally
Flawless. Sources: Famous Diamonds by Ian Balfour, and various magazine
articles.
The biggest trend for the
jewelry industry, however, was the number of designer jewelers who made it
into the Oscar spotlight. Alfredo Molina of Molina Fine Jewelers, Phoenix,
AZ, scored when when actress Laura Harring wore his necklace featuring the
$25 million Archduke Joseph diamond, a 76.45-ct. gem dating to the 17th
century and ranked as the world's 12th largest perfect white diamond.
April 5, 2002
Celine Dion to Wear Molina Necklace
On April 7, Celine Dion's televised comeback special will
feature a special guest in the finale: the $25 million Archduke Joseph
diamond, a 76.45-ct. gem dating to the 17th century and ranked as the
world's 12th largest perfect white diamond. It will be in a necklace
created with 57 Millennium diamonds by Molina Fine Jewelers, Phoenix, AZ.
The necklace includes 73.15 carats of diamonds and
designed so that the Archduke Joseph diamond could be inserted or removed.
The Archduke Joseph diamond is for sale at Molina Fine Jewelers.
The television special, which airs on CBS at 8 p.m. E.S.T., features many
songs from Dion's new release, "A New Day Has Come," as well as songs from
previous albums. "The elegance of the Archduke Joseph diamond mirrors the
beauty and clarity of Celine's voice," says Alfredo J. Molina, president
of Molina Fine Jewelers.
The Archduke Joseph diamond is a Type IIa diamond, a diamond type which
represents less than 1% of all diamonds. It originated in the Golconda
mines of India diamonds mined there were noteworthy for their limpidity
or clarity. The diamond takes its name from onetime owner Archduke Joseph
August (1872-1962), prince of the Hungarian line of the Hapsburg dynasty.
Erzherzog Joseph Ferdinand
Erzherzog Joseph Ferdinand was born on
the 24th of May 1872. He was the son of Ferdinand IV, the last Grand Duke
of Tuscany and his second wife - Alice of Bourbon-Parma. As the fourth of
a total of ten children he grew up in exile in Salzburg as a member of the
house of Habsburg-Toskana. Following numerous scandals, the eldest son,
Archduke Leopold Ferdinand withdrew from the house of Habsburg and adopted
the name Leopold Wölfling. Joseph Ferdinand as the now eldest son of the
Toskana family branch did not take up the title as a Grand Duke of
Tuscany, a title his father still held.
Erzherzog Joseph Ferdinand attended the
military Oberrealchule at Mährisch-Weißenkirchen and after that the
Theresian military academy at Wiener-Neustadt from which he was
commissioned as a Leutnant in the Tyrolean Jäger regiment on the 18th of
August 1892. Following various assignments with infantry regiments 93, 17,
59 and the 4th regiment of Tyrolean Jägers he was attached to infantry
regiment number 27 as an Oberstleutnant in 1903. From 1895 until 1897 he
had attended the Kriegsschule in Vienna and from 1905 until 1908 he
commanded infantry regiment 93 as an Oberst followed by command of the 5th
infantry brigade.
His service was more and more
interrupted with leave with which the enthusiastic hunter availed himself
with hunting trips abroad. A further interest of the Prince was air
travel. He had already concerned himself with balloon travel and in 1909
flew from his home in Linz with his own balloon to Dieppe in France in 16
hours.
In January 1911 Erzherzog Joseph
Ferdinand received command of the 3rd infantry division in Linz followed
shortly afterwards by his promotion to Feldmarschall-Leutnant on the 1st
of May 1911. At the outbreak of war the Archduke received his first corps
command, that of the 14th Corps having been promoted in the meantime to
General der Infanterie. He was simultaneously the defence commander of the
Tyrol and Vorarlberg and the commanding general at Innsbruck. With his
14th corps, with which many elite regiments were to be found, he fought on
the eastern front in the Autumn of 1914 as a group commander. In support
of General Auffenberg's army, he attacked successfully in the bend of the
river Bug and fought at Komarów, Zamosc and Rava Ruska. Following the
relief of General Auffenberg he was at first provisionally appointed to
command the 4th army on the 10th of September 1914 followed by permanent
command on the 9th of November 1915.
With the 4th army he took part in the
bloody winter campaign in the Carpathian mountains and the successful
spring offensive of 1915 at Gorlice-Tarnów. Following the breakthrough of
the Russian front at Gorlice and the battle of Krasnik he entered Lublin
as it's conqueror. Following the fall of the fortress at Brest-Litovsk on
the 26th of August 1915, the high command attempted a continuation of the
offensive which however failed and compelled a retreat to behind the river
Styr. On this line the front was finally stabilised and in more than six
months well constructed, even comfortable positions were constructed.
Above all the sanitary conditions were improved through the Archduke's
influence. With his promotion on the 26th of February 1916 he had finally
reached the rank of Generaloberst.
Up to this point the Archduke's career
had been successful. He was now to be judged as one of those mainly
responsible for the so-called catastrophe at Luck in June 1916. The
Russians had planned for some time a great attack in July 1916 against the
central powers. At the insistence of the French and Italian politicians
this was however brought forward. The main reason was the German offensive
at Verdun and the Austro-Hungarian offensive in the Trentino in Italy. The
Russian offensive was to provide relief for these two fronts. The central
powers could not naturally fail to anticipate the Russian offensive
preparations but put their trust in the well constructed positions and the
battle experience of the available troops. The four armies of General
Brusilov's South Western front attacked on a wide front. General Kaledin's
8th army had the mission to lead the attack against the Austro-Hungarian
4th army. Through individual initiative and without particular
reinforcement Brusilov's troops attacked on the 4th of June 1916. Already
in the first days of the offensive the Russians succeeded in a deep
penetration of the Austro-Hungarian positions at Olyka. Prolonged Russian
artillery fire had to a large extent destroyed the trenches of the
Austro-Hungarian infantry and made a surprise Russian penetration into the
defensive system possible. Extremely severe casualties and a high number
of losses through capture forced the 4th army to retreat to a defensive
position further to the west. Already by the 10th of June the Russians,
ever pressing forward, crossed the Styr. They had penetrated the
Austro-Hungarian positions to a width of 85 km and to a depth of 48 km. In
increasing measure the commanders were becoming ever more nervous and the
troops showing signs of discouragement. Some regiments of Slav nationality
especially were only putting up limited resistance against the Russians.
In eventful fighting, however the German and Austro-Hungarian troops
managed to consolidate the strongly shaken front around the end of July
1916 so that the danger of a Russian breakthrough of war winning
decisiveness was eliminated.
The army group commander Generaloberst
Linsingen blamed the command of the 4th army in numerous dispatches to the
AOK at Teschen for the breakdown in the leadership of the troops and with
this judgment the immediate relief of the Archduke of his command of 4th
army was obtained from the Kaiser by the 7th of June. Further
investigations were carried out to clarify the precise question of blame.
In a report by the chief of staff of the 4th army, Josef Ferdinand was
indeed relieved of much of the blame. However his name remained associated
with much of the leadership and a considerable part of the public with the
defeat at Luck. Kaiser Franz would not protect the Archduke just because
he was a member of the royal dynasty in deference to public opinion.
Following the accession to the throne of
Kaiser Karl in November 1916, the new Kaiser wished to reemploy Erzherzog
Joseph Ferdinand in the post of General-Inspektor der Luftfahrtruppen
(general inspector of the air force). To this appointment the Archduke
would bring his long experience through his association with ballooning to
the post. The AOK immediately objected to the appointment but despite
their reservations the Archduke was finally appointed to his new post on
the 8th of July 1917 and in which he remained until the 3rd of September
1918.
Following the collapse of the monarchy
the Archduke remained in Austria and on account of that had to publicly
renounce his membership of the house of Habsburg. He married his first
wife, the commoner Rosa Jockl in 1921 and lived at Mondsee. After his
separation to his first wife he married again in 1928 a wife not in
keeping with his social status - Gertrude Tomanke Edle von Bayerfels.
After the Anschluß of March 1938 Joseph Ferdinand was taken into
protective custody by organs of the NSDAP on the 10th and remained under
house arrest until the 25th of March under SA guard. Finally he was taken
to the concentration camp at Dachau and placed in solitary confinement and
only released, it is alleged at the intervention of Hermann Göring with
whom the family had been friendly, on the 4th of April. Joseph Ferdinand
was therefore the only member of the house of Habsburg who had been held
in a concentration camp. He died on the 25th of August 1942 in Vienna.
