The Great Diamond Hoax of 1872
Could a mountain of diamonds be fake?
4.7 (13)
47 mins
Explore how a handful of planted gemstones triggered a rush of excitement among wealthy investors and mining experts. Uncover the elaborate setup behind the fake discovery, the financial interests that helped spread the story, and the investigation that finally exposed the fraud.
Ep 1:
Diamonds in the Rough: A Gilded Age Scheme Begins
Two unpolished Kentucky cousins stumble into Gilded Age America's hunger for the next big strike, and spin a pouch of rough stones into a web ensnaring Wall Street's mightiest financiers.
Ep 2:
Billiard Tables and Tiffany's Blessing
Fueled by a London shopping spree and a billiard table avalanche of gems, the cousins win Tiffany's own seal of approval—then quietly salt a remote Wyoming mesa to seal the deception.
Ep 3:
The Blind Spot of Experts
A celebrated mining engineer declares the mesa a bonanza, igniting a national diamond frenzy—even as the shrewd cousins cash out, and one skeptical geologist smells something impossibly wrong.
Ep 4:
Theater Set in the Desert
A frozen expedition exposes cut gems and drill holes, shattering the hoax overnight—leaving ruined reputations, a drowned banker, and two masterminds whose fates diverge in the strangest ways.
Discussions (5)
Wilma
Level 9 · 1 week agoTiffany's appraisal wasn't that shocking. Uncut stones are genuinely hard to assess
Desmond
Level 8 · 1 week agoCalling Tiffany's appraisal a failure is too easy. Uncut rough stones are genuinely hard to appraise even for experts. The real failure was Janin not catching the cut facets and drill holes. That's the actual embarrassing miss.
Bernie
Level 5 · 1 week agoTwo guys with dirt under their nails and $35k in cheap gems just out-thought Tiffany, Rothschild, and a sitting Congressman. Harvard who?
