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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In the summer 1984 year, a bank manager called Christie’s with an unusual question. One of his clients wanted to sell a large blue diamond, which, by size, was compared to a pigeon's egg. After the viewing, it became clear that before the experts stood a stone the jewelry world had not seen for almost seven decades.
The most famous of these tales sounds almost like a family legend: the jewel allegedly was given to the Bolsheviks in exchange for Mikhail Tereshchenko’s release from prison. However, documents about the diamond itself provide a different chronology. And it greatly complicates this story.
How did one of the world’s largest blue diamonds end up with the Tereshchenkos?
Mikhail Tereshchenko was born in Kyiv 1886 year and belonged to one of the richest Ukrainian entrepreneurial families of his time. The Tereshchenkos came from Glukhov in Sumy region. The foundation of their wealth was the sugar industry, but the family owned lands, enterprises, and financial assets as well. They spent substantial funds on philanthropy: supporting hospitals, educational institutions, shelters, churches, museums, and art collections. By the early 20th century Mikhail had inherited a huge fortune.
The Tereshchenko family / Screenshot from the post by Roman Timofeev
His fortune was estimated at more than 60 million rubles. In 1917 year he joined the Provisional Government — first as Finance Minister, then as Foreign Minister. Approximately at that period the famous blue stone appeared in Tereshchenko’s life. Its exact provenance is unknown. The Mouawad jewelry house, to which the diamond belongs today, does not disclose a reliable date of discovery or a specific mine. There is a supposition that the stone originated in India, but there is no confirmed history of its early owners.
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According to the family version, later relayed by Mikhail’s grandson Michel Tereshchenko, grandfather bought the diamond 1913 year in Antwerp for his beloved Margaret Nœ, a Frenchwoman who became his first wife. Jewelry sources allow confidently tracing the stone from the same 1913 year, but begin the story in Paris, notes Roman Timofeev.
Then Mikhail Tereshchenko left the large blue diamond at Cartier. In 1915 year he commissioned a necklace for it. The central stone, weighing 42,92 carats, received a pear-shaped cut. Around Cartier he placed another 46 diamonds of various sizes, shapes, and colors.
In the descriptions of the piece, round and pear-shaped stones, marquises, and heart-shaped diamonds are mentioned, and the palette included yellows, pinks, greens, blues, and other shades. Different sources do not unanimously place Tereschenko Blue among the largest blue diamonds.
Mouawad calls it the second-largest after the famous Hope Diamond, weighing 45,52 carats. In Christie’s catalog it appeared as the fourth among the largest known fancy blue diamonds. Therefore, it is more correct to speak of it as one of the largest blue diamonds in the world.
Did the stone really pay for Tereshchenko’s freedom?
After the Bolshevik coup in October 1917 year, Mikhail Tereshchenko, along with other members of the Provisional Government, was arrested in the Winter Palace. He was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. In the spring 1918 year Tereshchenko was released, after which he left the former empire.
Tereshchenko Diamond / Screenshot from the post by Roman Timofeev
Michel Tereshchenko recounted that Margaret Nœ tried to secure the release of her husband and eventually allegedly struck a deal with Trotsky. The price of freedom was to be the large blue diamond. This very version sparked the story about the jewel that saved the life of the Ukrainian millionaire.
Documented confirmation could not be obtained. Moreover, the well-known story of the diamond itself contradicts such a development. According to Christie’s, the diamond left the Russian Empire as early as 1916 year. After that it passed to an unnamed private owner. The same chronology is given by Gem-A. If these data are correct, in 1918 year Margaret could no longer hand over that exact 42,92-carat stone to the Bolsheviks. That does not disprove the possibility of a ransom.
The family could have used other jewels or money, and over the years a few events could have merged into one family story. However, today there are no documents linking Tereshchenko’s release specifically to Tereschenko Blue.
Why does a French dancer appear in the stone’s history?
After 1916 year, the diamond’s trail nearly disappears. The next version of its fate appeared thanks to old newspaper reports. Jewelry historian and gemologist Jack Ogden drew attention to the French dancer Suzanne Marie Blanche Tuyille, who performed under the name Mademoiselle Primrose.
For a time she lived in Saint Petersburg and was acquainted with people from court circles. Before the revolution, Tuyille left for France. In French press publications from 1920-x years, the jewel she brought with her is mentioned — a large blue diamond about 43 carats. The weight almost matches Tereschenko Blue — 42,92 carats. According to newspaper reports, the dancer arrived in Nice in 1916 year and soon pledged the stone. Later the diamond repeatedly figured in financial controversies.
In March 1925 year, the case reached civil court in Nice, after which reliable references to this jewel nearly disappeared. The coincidence of dates and weight led Ogden to speculate that the Mademoiselle Primrose diamond could be Tereschenko Blue. According to Christie’s, the Tereshchenko diamond was taken out of the empire in 1916 year. In the same year a blue-diamond dancer appeared in France with a stone of almost identical weight. But there is no proof that would allow putting an equality sign between the two stones.
Newspaper reports of that time contain inconsistencies, so Ogden presents this story only as a possible episode in the Tereschenko Blue biography. Who owned the diamond after Tereshchenko and where it actually resided in the following decades is not known for certain.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Діамант із Києва зник майже на 70 років: легенда каже, що ним заплатили за свободу Терещенка". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
