The Hope Diamond has been alone in its display case since 1958, however it soon will be rooming with the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond.

     Both diamonds will be put on display at the Smithsonian Institute.  The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will be at the Smithsonian for the next 6 months.

     Rumored to be from India, the Hope Diamond was found in the mid 1600s.  Over the years the Hope Diamond has passed from the hands of nobles to the highest bidder at auction, much like the The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond.  It was originally a wedding gift to the Austrian family at the wedding of Spain’s Philip IV to his daughter to Emperor Leopold I of Austria.

     The actual origin of the Wittlesbach-Graff Diamond is unknown.  While at the Smithsonian both diamonds will examined to “determine their lineage,” according to wsj.com. 

     This is the first time the Wittlesbach-Graff Diamond has been put on display in 50 years.

http://happynews.com/news/1292010/rare-17th-century-diamond-goes-display.htm

http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_Si/nmnh/hope.htm http://blogs.wsj.com/magazine/2010/01/29/sightlines-the-wittelsbach-graff-diamond/