US has Sun King's stolen gem, say French experts

November 18, 2008

French experts said on Tuesday they had proof that the Hope Diamond, a star exhibit in Washington's Smithsonian Institution, is a legendary gem once owned by King Louis XIV that was looted in the French Revolution.


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Arikin
Nov 18, 2008

Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
"nature and chemical composition of the original blue diamond were never recorded"

Wouldn't it be possible to find the general chemical composition from other diamonds mined in India's Hyderabad state?
dave933
Nov 18, 2008

Rank: 4.2 / 5 (5)
Interesting story. Sure enough it will trigger the anti-french village idiots.
Fada
Nov 18, 2008

Rank: 4 / 5 (4)
i guess that means we must put it in the french antiquity section of the museum.lets just say you can count it as part of the payback for fighting off HITL-ermany in wwii.
right back at ya france!merci!

Or lets just say that it was ye paying them back for enabeling your country to exist in the first place.
ofidiofile
Nov 18, 2008

Rank: 4 / 5 (4)
note, the beginning of the article says it's identity has been established "beyond reasonable doubt". in the last paragraph, it's noted that they are not "100-percent sure". that's not a contradiction.
zevkirsh
Nov 19, 2008

Rank: 3 / 5 (4)
Interesting story. Sure enough it will trigger the anti-french village idiots.
Interesting story. Sure enough it will trigger the anti-french village idiots.


i only eat FREEDOM FRIES!!! man, i actually once got kicked out of a restaurant in backwater pennsylvania for insisting they were french fries . hahahahaha
ErickS
Nov 19, 2008

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
The French shouldn't complain: Napoleon robbed in all countries occupied by France between 1795-1815 a lot of treasures. E.g. a well known case is a Dutch Mosasaur skeleton which is now already for 200 years in the French Museum of Natural History.

Also the British we're quite 'creative' in this regard: see for example the Elgin marbles...
Paradox
Nov 19, 2008

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Was this originally stolen by Frenchmen...?
nrdufour
Nov 20, 2008

Rank: not rated yet
Very interesting story and pretty stupid comments.

Like any geologist would say: any rock has an history :)!
Rank 3.9 /5 (23 votes)
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