SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia's largest diamond, a 95-carat gem known as the 'Golconda D'or,' was stolen from an exhibition in the Sydney Town Hall Saturday, police reported.
Det. Sgt. Ted Turner of the police special squad said the diamond disappeared from a locked glass case in the center of the exhibition.
The gem is owned by Sydney jewelers Angus and Coote and is valued at about $500,000.
'It's hard to put a true figure on the stone,' a spokesman said.
The diamond, with a diameter about the size of an American dollar coin, is listed among the world's great stones. Historical records date it to 1739 when it was seized as part of the fabulous booty looted from New Delhi by the Persian invader Nadir Shah.
It is believed the Golconda D'or was handed down to the sultans of Turkey in the early 19th century.
Turner said the only clue to the robbery was the discovery near the showcase of two empty cardboard boxes that could have concealed the robber as he removed the stone.
