Today’s post was written by Christina Violeta Jones, Archivist with the Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives at College Park, MD
The National Archives’ Special Access and FOIA Program has recently made the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) case file on the Krupp Diamond theft (87-HQ-46974) accessible online via the National Archives Catalog.
The Krupp Diamond, also known as the “Elizabeth Taylor Diamond,” is an asscher cut 33.19-carat stone. Its facets are arranged in parallel lines to the girdle of the diamond, which gives it a look described by experts as “an endless hallway with reflective mirrors.”[1] Not much is known about its origins. The diamond’s first known owner was German actress Vera Krupp, who was gifted the ring from her then husband Alfried Krupp, a German industrialist.[2] In 1959, the exquisite ring was considered to be worth a small fortune, with an estimated value of $275,000.
After a very public divorce in 1954, Vera moved to the United States and purchased Spring Mountain Ranch, a large estate just outside Las Vegas, Nevada.[3] The locals described her as a glamorous and very attractive woman. Many residents in Spring Valley had seen the ring and Krupp’s ownership was common knowledge.[4] According to several reports and newspaper accounts in the FBI case file she wore it at all times, even while grocery shopping along with blue jeans and a sombrero.[5] She adored the massive diamond and it was always secured on her finger.
That is, until the night of April 10, 1959 at around 8:30 p.m. when Krupp was finishing up dinner with her rancher foreman, Harold Martin Brotherson, when they were suddenly attacked and robbed by three men. According to one of the FBI investigative reports, Brotherson reported the following regarding the robbery:
“Vera Krupp soon got up and went around a stone wall to the back door and he heard someone knock at the door. He then heard Vera talking to someone about the roads and they came into the kitchen area and he did view the man. Vera told the fellow the roads belonged to the county and they were not interested in having the roads fixed. She also commented about his being on private property and started edging him toward the back door and out of his sight.
The next I knew, another man pushed Vera back against the kitchen table and immediately came in to where I was sitting. The fellow had a gun in his hand and went to my side and said something about not being a hero. He then told me to put my hands behind my back and handcuffed me. He then put a piece of adhesive tape across my eyes. I do not remember hearing the tape being torn from a roll and he must have brought the tape with him. He then made me get on the floor and put Vera next to me and started to tie us together with wire.”[6]
The robbers bound them and masked their eyes. They took the 33.6 carat diamond ring directly from Krupp’s finger, along with a pistol, and $700,000 in cash.[7] Krupp stated that during the robbery, “the third man attempted to take her ring off her finger and because she kept the ring tight, he had trouble and she was afraid he would tear her finger off. She told him to wait and she would spit on her finger so the ring could come off easier, but he kept pulling and the ring came off, cutting her finger as it came off.”[8]
About two hours after the theft, Krupp and Brotherson were able to free themselves and drove to the Las Vegas airport to call the authorities.[9]
The FBI believed that the stolen diamond would be quickly transported across state lines. Their attention was directed to John William Hagenson, a fugitive who was wanted in connection with a similar theft in Bel Air, California.
The FBI followed Hagenson’s footsteps across the country and arrested him along with Marion Carter Bowman and William S. Davie in Bossier City, Louisiana on April 27, 1959.[10] Other suspects were quickly added to the list and the FBI was able to piece together the movements of the robbers from city to city.[11] The others that were involved in the theft included James George Reves, Edward Daniel Hay, Julius Berger, and Joseph F. Simonetti.[12] The center diamond was found in the interlining of Reves’ coat at a motel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, while the two baguette diamonds were recovered from a local jeweler in St. Louis, Missouri, who purchased them for $150,000. Simonetti, a local grocer who was charged with conspiring to help sell the stolen ring, entered a plea of innocence and was released on a $10,000 permanent bond.
The facts of the case were presented before a Federal Grand Jury in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 30, 1959. The jury returned a true bill charging Hagenson, Reves, Hay, Davie, Bowman, and Berger with conspiracy to transport stolen property. All except Berger were charged with interstate transportation of stolen property.
Hagenson, Reves, Hay, Davie, Bowman, and Berger were tried in Las Vegas on November 2, 1959.[13] During the case, it was shown, through testimonies, motel registrations, and plane tickets, how the Bureau traced the stolen diamond across the country. The trial introduced into evidence all the items taken during the robbery with the exception of the stolen money and the mounting for the ring.
On November 20, 1959, Reves, Davie, and Berger were found guilty and sentenced in Las Vegas, Nevada. On December 11, 1959 Hagenson, Bowman, and Hay were found guilty and sentenced in Carson City, Nevada. Appeals were filed by Bowman, Hagenson, and Hay.[14]
A motion for a new trial for Bowman and Hagenson was granted on June 20, 1963, in light of the fact that the court reporter in the original trial was killed in an automobile accident prior to the transcription of her stenographic notes. Bowman was found guilty and sentenced to five years and a $10,000 fine on Count One (Conspiracy) and ten years on Count Two (Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property). Hagenson was found not guilty and returned to San Quentin, California State Prison to complete his sentence there.[15]
Once the diamond was returned, Krupp had it reset with a platinum band by luxury jeweler Harry Winston. A glass replica of the diamond was donated to the FBI by Winston in recognition of the successful investigation of the case.[16] She continued to live on the ranch where she redesigned the interior of the main house, adding a swimming pool and bedroom accessed by a secret passage. She died on October 16, 1967.
On May 16, 1968, the Krupp diamond went up for auction at Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York City (now Sotheby’s). Actor Richard Burton purchased the ring at the price of $305,000, the highest price paid at auction for a diamond ring at that time. Burton presented it to his then wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor as a gift. According to Burton, “I wanted the diamond because it is incomparably lovely and it should be on the loveliest woman in the world.”[17]
Taylor was considered a fashion icon both for her film costumes and personal style. It was well known within the fashion industry that her personality intertwined tremendously with her vast jewelry collection.[18]
Taylor considered the Krupp Diamond one of the most notable pieces in her jewelry collection. She often referred to the gem as “her baby, 33 Carats and Growing.” According to Taylor:
“This remarkable stone is called the Krupp diamond because it has been owned by Vera Krupp, the famous munitions family which helped knock off millions of Jews. When it came up for auction in the late 1960s, I thought how perfect it would be if a nice Jewish girl like me were to own it. In truth, though, there’s nothing funny about the Krupp. When I look into it the deep Asscher cuts – which are so complete and so ravishing – are like steps that lead into eternity and beyond. My ring gives me the strangest feeling for beauty. With its sparks of red and white and blue and purple, and on and on, it sort of hums with its own beatific life. To me, the Krupp says, ‘I want to share my chemistry – my magic – with you.’” [19]
Taylor was known to wear the diamond at all times. In 1993, she guest-starred as herself in the television series, The Simpsons. Taylor’s animated character is seen wearing the ring as she does chores and polishes her Academy Award, and stares into its reflective facets after cleaning it with a toothbrush.[20]
Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011. After her death, her jewelry was auctioned by Christie’s to benefit her charity, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). The jewelry collection sold for a record-breaking sum of $156.8 million. The Krupp Diamond alone sold for $8.8 million to its current owner, the South Korean conglomerate E-Land. The company, based out of Seoul, owns several fashion retailers, shopping malls, theme parks, restaurants, and hotels. At the time the diamond was purchased, the company released a statement indicating that they planned to display it at their E-World theme park in the southeastern city of Daegu.
The Krupp Diamond case not only sheds light on the FBI investigations into stolen property but also documents the fascinating history of the renowned gem that links the personal lives of Hollywood icons Vera Krupp and Elizabeth Taylor.
Thank you to Jeffery Hartley, NARA’s Librarian for providing access to secondary resources, to Steve Branch, Audiovisual Archivist at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, for providing additional photographs of Elizabeth Taylor, and to the Special Access and FOIA staff.
[1] See Balfour, Ian. Famous Diamonds. Collins, 1987, Page 277.
[2] The couple married in a secret ceremony after Arthur was released from prison in 1952; see 87-HQ-46974 Sub A, page 4 “3 Gunmen Bind Mrs. Krupp, Get $250,000 Jewels from The New Herald Tribune, April 10, 1959.” Alfried Krupp convicted of crimes against humanity after World War II for the genocide manner used to operate his factories and sentenced to twelve years in prison. His sentence was eventually reduced to three years with time served in 1951. NARA holdings include records related to Krupp’s war crimes, see KRUPP, ALFRIED (NAID 139362558).
[3] See “History of Spring Mountain Ranch State Park,” Nevada State Parks Website ;Krupp purchased the ranch from Chet Lauck, a comic actor who played the character of Lum Edwards on the classic American radio comedy Lum and Abner.
[4] Ibid.
[5] 87-HQ-46974 Sub A, Excerpt from “Newspaper Clipping from the Newark Sunday News featuring photograph of The Krupp Diamond, taken March 24, 1959. For more on Classification 87 (Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property) seeClassification 87 (Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property) Headquarters Case Files, January 1, 1934–December 28, 1990 (NAID 4042951).
[6] Ibid.
[7] 87–HQ-46974, Sub A, page 5. On April 13, 1959, a teenage boy on his way to school saw a revolver lying in the desert alongside a road near Las Vegas. He turned the gun over to the Clark County Sheriff’s office and it was identified as the gun stolen from Vera Krupp. Other items stolen were a few more pieces of jewelry and a camera.
[8] 87-HQ-46974-8.
[9] 87-HQ-46974, Sub A, page 4.
[10] 87-HQ-46974-37.
[11] For a map showing how the FBI tracked the case, see the FBI’s History of Famous Cases and Criminals.
[12] George Reves’s wife Mary Jo was also arrested, but Reeves asserted that his wife Mary Jo had nothing to do with the robbery, 87-HQ-46974-Sub A, pages 14-28; Serials-37 & 97.
[13] Prior to the trial Hagenson, attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, 87-HQ-46974-61.
[14] Hay was later shot and killed by his wife in Texas City, Texas on July 13, 1960.
[15] 87-HQ-46974-219.
[16] Ibid.
[17] “A Name that Sparkles: The Stories Behind The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond and the Taylor-Burton Diamond,” Elizabeth Taylor Website (elizabethtaylor.com).
[18] Elizabeth Taylor, Ruth A. Peltason, and John Bigelow Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. Simon & Schuster, 2002.
[19] Ibid.
[20] The Simpsons, Season 4, Episode 22 – Krusty Gets Kancelled.