The Sancy Blood Diamond: Power, Greed, and the Cursed History of One of the World's Most Coveted Gems

In this historical potboiler, Susan Ronald traces the history of the Sancy Diamond from the mines of Golconda to its current tranquil resting place in The Louvre. As the largest and most famous diamond in Europe from the Fourteenth through the Seventeenth Century, The Sancy had many admirers and several owners; from Charles the Bold through Napoleon, kings, queens, cardinals and dukes, some of them major players on the stage of European history. Ronald does more; she is a knowledgeable political-historian and along the way she weaves the Sancy's chronology into to woof and weft of European political history. As Ronald shows, The Sancy and by extension other famous gems did more than add luster to the crowns of European Monarchs. Goldsmiths were Europe's first bankers. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that long before the present conflicts in Africa, large and famous gems provided the bloody collateral of choice, pledged by Europe's crowned heads to the financiers who bankrolled Europe's major conflicts. Ronald's account is authoritative, fast paced and reads like a Machiavellian analysis of history. From the killing fields of Nancy, to Charles I's beheading, to the court of the Sun King, Ronald shows how sex, power and greed as represented by The Sancy, fueled the politics of Europe. The book was published in 1995, don't know how I missed it. The book is particularly relevant given the present interest in conflict diamonds. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be a very entertaining and fascinating read. It certainly gives the most thorough historical account of this fabulous stone that I have yet come across. The subject is well researched, as the author can place the Sancy for nearly every point in its significant European history. Apart from the few awkward similes involving Saddam Hussein and the tirade against the Louvre at the conclusion, this book is well written and easily comprehended. The reproductions of portraits where the diamond is portrayed were also very helpful in visualizing the various settings of the stone over the centuries. One criticism for the book is that some parts of the `filler history' seem to highlight the author's personal judgments rather than historical events. Nevertheless, readers who find interest in European royal politics as well as those interested in the history of great gems will find this well worth the read.