Hidden in plain sight: The Habsburg 137-carat Florentine Diamond that proves Canada’s banks are built on trust

How the Florentine Diamond ended up in a Canadian bank vault

The diamond’s journey is as dramatic as it is symbolic. When Emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary fled Europe after World War I, his family carried the gem through exile, eventually reaching Quebec. There, Empress Zita placed the diamond in a Canadian bank vault — where it quietly remained for 100 years.

In 1953, Empress Zita returned to Europe and left the jewels in the care of the Quebec bank. She died in Switzerland in 1989 at the age of 96.

As Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles’s grandson, told The New York Times (2): “My grandmother felt very safe — she could breathe finally. I assume that, at that stage, the little suitcase went into a bank safe, and that was it. And in that bank safe, it just stayed.”

Habsburg-Lothringen (whose family prefers the original spelling of the Habsburg name) went on to say, “The less people know about it, the bigger the security." In fact, Habsburg-Lothringen only recently learned of the existence of the jewels from his two cousins — Robert’s son, Lorenz von Habsburg-Lothringen, 70, and Rodolphe’s son, Simeon von Habsburg-Lothringen, 67.

Why a Canadian bank? Stability, security — and trust

The Habsburgs trusted Canada with one of history’s most valuable jewels says something profound about our nation’s financial system. But that shouldn't come as a surprise given that Canada’s banks are routinely ranked among the world’s most stable — a reputation forged through prudent regulation, conservative lending, and deep public trust.

In fact, Canada has not seen a single major bank failure since the Great Depression — a remarkable record in a world that has weathered multiple global financial crises, including the Dot Com bubble, the U.S. housing market crash, the global liquidity crunch and the COVID pandemic. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report has consistently ranked Canada in the top 10 for soundness of banks (3).

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According to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canadian banks maintain some of the highest capital reserve requirements in the world — a regulatory requirement where financial institutions must keep a reserve of funds to ensure liquidity during times of economic distress. These high capital reserve requirements ensure that even during economic shocks, customer deposits remain protected (4).

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What happens to the Florentine Diamond now?

The Habsburgs family told The New York Times that they want to display the diamond at a Canadian museum in the next few years. But there is no plan to sell the diamond and the family declined to speculate on the jewel’s monetary value.

“It’s an extraordinary achievement to have managed to preserve it for 100 years actually incognito,” explained Richard Bassett, an associate fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge. Bassett wrote a book on the Hapsburgs and was commissioned by the family to write a report on the diamond’s history. Bassett continued by saying: “It’s an astonishing tribute to the Empress Zita’s practical determination. And she was a very practical woman.”

What this means for Canadians and investors

The Florentine Diamond’s century-long stay in a Canadian vault offers a literal example of confidence — one built not on gold or jewels, but on institutional strength.

For investors, this stability translates into opportunity. Canada’s financial sector, led by the “Big Six” banks — RBC (TSX:RY.TO), TD (TSX:TD.TO), Scotiabank (TSX:BNS.TO), BMO (TSX:BMO.TO), CIBC (TSX:CM.TO), and National Bank (TSX:NA.TO) — continues to post steady earnings and attractive dividends, even during global uncertainty. Bank-focused ETFs such as the BMO Equal Weight Banks ETF (TSX:ZEB.TO) and RBC Canadian Banks ETF (TSX:RBNK.TO) give investors a way to gain exposure to that resilience.