V. Speys - The Shah twin diamond. Detective

When the turn came to the safe of Catherine the Great, the captain accepting the wagon asked: —

– And this item, why is it not marked here?

– This item is intended for restoration. I was instructed how to deliver it to an antique dealer in Kiev for restoration. Look, the locks do not work, the tiled lining is covered with cracks, and rust appears in some places. After restoration, it will be delivered to the Kremlin, to the Armory.

– Discover! – ordered the captain. The seine opened a creaky heavy door. On the shelves were two cardboard boxes.

«What kind of things are these?!» – sternly, looking at the major, the captain asked.

– These are already my two toys for children from my grandfather, gifts from the war. – The major was misleading, hoping for the captain’s lack of awareness of rare specimens of Faberge priceless jewelry.

– Unpack, you need to look, what’s there?

The seine took out two boxes, opened two huge and colorful Easter eggs wrapped in rags. Faberge masterpieces appeared in the world.

– They know how to make toys for children. Okay, you major must bring something for loved ones, after all, we went through such a war before our Victory. Close this junk, restore.

When the turn came to an antique table with four-legged faces, the captain asked: – What is this shabby table for restoration? He is not on the list.

– So, comrade captain, I’m an antique dealer, after restoration, both the safe and this table will be delivered to the Kremlin, by oral order of Comrade Marshal Victory Zhukov.

The captain completed the inspection on the second day. And already in the office, Lavrenty Beria took out the order of Georgy Zhukov from the red folder with the attached list of trophies from Germany to replenish the Kremlin’s historic chambers and rooms. After reading the order, Beria tore the sheet into two parts in front of the captain who was standing at attention. Then he went to his desk, took a piece of government letterhead with typewritten text and a red seal on it, and handed it to the captain.

– Here is a new order from the higher authorities. Follow the instructions in it. You will return the order form to me personally.

– There is! – the captain put a new order in the folder, turned in a military circle and left.

«So,» the captain began to say, sitting down on a bench lying in the compartment of the car accompanying the cargo from Germany, «this is the order of Comrade Lavrenty Beria, furniture, clothes, carpets and utensils to take Comrade Zhukov to the Moscow apartment. And things for restoration, there is this dilapidated safe and a table in Kiev. Transport and soldiers will be allocated for loading. Here is the Act of cargo acceptance, bill of lading to Kiev and passes for transport police and commandant’s office. Depart tomorrow, on a truck with cargo…

Furniture, carpets and some utensils by order of Lavrenty Beria was delivered to Zhukov’s Moscow apartment. And at the request of the Marshal, Oleg Mikhailovich an antique table with a safe, in which priceless treasures of Faberge eggs and a twin diamond Shah were stored, were delivered to Kiev to Peremet’s apartment, to a secret bomb shelter to other valuable specimens, where a collection of old wines was stored…

History reference:

«A year later, the famous «Trophy Case» took place in Moscow, during which the legendary Marshal of Victory was accused of misappropriation of various luxury goods. Georgy Zhukov admitted that he had indeed brought a lot of furniture, carpets and other fashionable utensils from Germany, and repented that he had not informed the higher authorities about this. As a result, he was transferred to the post of commander of the Ural Military District.

After Stalin’s death, the commander is returned to Moscow and, by order of Nikita Khrushchev, is appointed first deputy minister of defense, and later minister. By the way, Georgy Zhukov played far from the last role in the removal of Lavrenty Beria from power, who was his exposer in the Trophy Affair. According to most researchers, Marshal Zhukov became one of the key figures in the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian anti-communist uprising and carried out the rather bloody Whirlwind operation. After it, Khrushchev was frightened by the great influence of the Minister of Defense on the public and military leaders, so he achieved the complete removal of Georgy Zhukov from work and dismissed.»

And the priceless treasures delivered to Kiev became the property of the Oleg Peremet family

The door was opened by Igor.

– Come on in, there are a few ideas, you need to consult.

I took off my shoes and, jumping into slippers, followed him into the kitchen. Near the stove, with a Turk in which strong coffee was already boiling, Igor began to mess around.

– Have a seat. – He said, bringing the Turk and pouring coffee into cups. Croissants and cookies were lying on the table; it was evident that he had already managed to visit the deli. Then he sat down at the table and began to speak.

– I thought that since you are in courses about these treasures, then it’s time to tell you the story of their origin.

– My grandfather Peremet Oleg Mikhailovich, as you know, served as the quartermaster in the army of the first Ukrainian front during the war…

Igor’s grandfather didn’t report on the treasures he kept, fearing for the consequences for his family. And it was undertaken by Comrade Peremet, a major front-line soldier, an action that distracted the attention of the authorities from the main treasures – this is that he tried to give away the antique safe of Catherine the Great, as you know, the authorities dismissed the annoying assaults of the front-line soldier with such a request.

So, now the antique safe, Faberge eggs, and engraved diamond belong to Igor.

– I searched the Internet for historical reports about this diamond, and that the most interesting exact copy of it is in the Kremlin Armory. I checked the size of the diamond with the size of the treasure being stored, the copy is identical.

– Or maybe it’s just a glass? I asked warily.

– Look, here I wrote out the comparative sizes from the Internet, and those that were removed from our diamond are identical.

– I see that even in weight match.

«Well, of course, I checked it on a kitchen electronic scale, that’s for sure.» – Igor said.

– So this is the script. – I thoughtfully thought, – I am confused only by the fact that how it was possible to make two twins. After all, each stone must be different and absolutely identical diamonds do not exist in nature?

– I think that it was a solid crystal, which was split into two halves and then the master polished these parts, finishing to the same perfection, and then engraved.

– Wow! I exclaimed.

– This diamond was found in ancient times in India, and its identity with the Shah suggests that it has no price. – Igor remarked delightedly, – The certificates of the German expert are also present here, however, the expert did not even understand that this is the Twin Shah. And Shah in 1922 was transported from St. Petersburg to Moscow and placed in the Kremlin Armory.

– No, I do not think so. It seems to me that this copy of Shah, was made in Germany in the thirties from another diamond, suitable in shape and the engraving was carried out by more advanced methods.

– And how to understand this? – asked Igor.

– Do you have a diamond here? Let’s take a closer look. If all three inscriptions are identical in groove depth and evenness, then my assumption is correct.

«I don’t understand why to make a copy?» – Igor said, passing me the stone.

– Apparently, one of the customers really wanted to have the Shah diamond for something of their vanity, to raise a scandal in the world among collectors of ancient jewelry, and thus inflate the price at times. After all, this is not a glass, but a real diamond, clean and sparkling, as befits a diamond. – I held this treasure in my hands, admiring the work of the master, examining through a magnifying glass an even cut of grooves of the same depth study.