Expert gemologists have recently discovered that the world’s two most famous fancy colored natural blue diamonds are not related after all. The infamous Hope Diamond and the rarely seen Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond were once thought to have originated from the same rough matter, which was supposedly extracted from the famed Kollur mine in Golconda, a diamond mine known for its incredible output of natural blue diamonds.

Experts believed that these 2 spectacular diamonds were related due to their almost identical color grades and the fact that their carat weights are relatively close (the Hope diamond weighs 45.5 carats, while the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond weighs approximately 31 carats). Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Gem Collection explained: “There is an uncanny resemblance, but they are different… not part of the same crystal .”

After years of speculation, Smithsonian gemologists could finally check whether the two blue diamonds were indeed cut from the same rough matter. This rare opportunity came about when the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond was lent to the museum by the Graff Diamonds International corp. for a limited period of six months. The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is perhaps the world’s most famous, unseen blue diamond. The diamond was last seen in 1958 at the Brussels’ Precious Gemstone Exhibition. It has not been on display for over 50 years.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond made its first recorded appearance in 1664, when it was listed as part of Princess Margaret Teresa of Spain’s dowry. In 1722, the amazing natural blue diamond was relocated to Bavaria, where it was mounted onto Maximilian IV Joseph von Wittelsbach, the first Bavarian king’s crown. The diamond remained in Bavaria as part of the Bavarian crown jewels till 1921, when it was sold off at a local auction to a private, anonymous collector. The diamond was resold in 2008 for an astounding 16.5 million pounds Sterling, to Laurence Graff, a well-renowned diamond collector and the chairman of Graff Diamonds International corp.

After examining the two diamonds under high powered microscopes and UV lights, Post and his team of gemologists reported that the two exceedingly rare precious gemstones were in fact not related, and that they almost certainly came from different crystals. Post explained that the grain patterns present within the diamonds’ crystalline structures were not identical and that viewing the diamonds under UV lights revealed that they were different in the manner in which they phosphoresce. In his report, Post noted that “one of the big differences is that the Wittelsbach-Graff had a longer phosphorescence.” The team of gemologists found that, while the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond exhibited high phosphoresce, the Hope Diamond showed almost none of the characteristics attributed to this phenomena.

As to which mine produced these two diamonds, Post admits that, although the diamonds were definitely not cut from the same rough matter, they are in fact very similar “They are not part of the same crystal or rough. Perhaps they are distant cousins, but not brothers and sisters.” Therefore, it is entirely plausible that the two gemstones were indeed extracted from the same diamond mine.