If you enjoyed the film National Treasure, where actor Nicolas Cage steals the Declaration of Independence, you’ll get a kick out of this real life story: Late in the evening of October 29, 1964, three young burglars broke into the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, stealing 24 jewels from the Hall of Gems. Among them was the dome-shaped, milky blue Star of India, the world’s largest star sapphire.
Mined nearly 300 years ago in Sri Lanka, the 536-carat sapphire was already some 2 billion years old when it was first discovered. Surrounding mineral deposits of rutile in the earth had caused a star effect in the center of the golf-ball-sized stone, which changes based both the angle and incoming light. American financier J.P Morgan donated the Star to AMNH in 1900. There it remained for 64 years until it was suddenly stolen from its home that fateful day.
An anonymous tip soon led authorities to the three men, who ultimately confessed how they did it: Apparently, the museum had just cut back on security to save money—insight the robbers had gained upon visiting the Hall repeatedly. The thieves were eventually convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.
The Star of India was found several months later in a Miami bus station. Returned to its home of now 110 years, the remarkable sapphire can be viewed at the American Museum of Natural History in the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems.
[Photography courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History]
Published on January 19, 2010
While there are many sites today dedicated to the pursuit of fashion and style, here at MRK Style we approach these subjects through a collector’s lens. Through exploring how people relate to Art, Family, Fashion, Food, Film and Travel—essentially life’s various, everyday obsessions—we reflect on how we all live with the things we love. 
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