QUEBEC CITY -- In a world premiere, a Quebec museum will display a pocket watch that once belonged to Marie-Antoinette and the legendary 137-carat Florentine diamond. The precious jewels are among a collection once thought lost or stolen, that had been hidden in a suitcase and kept secret for over a century in a Canadian bank vault. The jewels will be on display to the public at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) as of Friday, Sept. 4. The exhibition tells of close historical ties between Canada and Europe, and of the remarkable story of the last empress of Austria-Hungary’s journey to safety in Quebec City with nothing but a battered suitcase in hand. “The city of Quebec offered my family safety, respect and hope during a time of great uncertainty,” said Empress Zita’s grandson Karl von Habsburg in a statement shared in a Thursday press release. “Showing these jewels at the Musée is an expression of profound gratitude to Quebec and Canada for welcoming and sheltering my grandmother and her eight children during World War II.” Near the end of the First World War, and the abolition of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the jewellery owned by the Habsburg family was transported to Switzerland and eventually to Belgium, where Emperor Charles I and his wife Empress Zita were in exile. After the death of her husband, Empress Zita had to flee once again during the Second World War to escape Nazi troops. The Germans bombed the Habsburg family’s house two days after her escape. The empress made her way to Quebec City in October 1940 with her eight children, and priceless family jewels packed in the same small suitcase. The Sisters of Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc, a Quebec congregation, offered the empress and her children a modest home, with the blessing of the then-Archbishop of Quebec, where she stayed for a decade. When she returned to Europe, she left the collection of 15 jewels behind for safekeeping where they remained for decades with the Saint Joseph Trust, an entity entrusted with holding the jewels. “More than 80 years later, it is deeply moving to see this story continue in Quebec and to be able, in turn to share these treasures with the public,” said Saint Joseph trustee Andrew Molson. It was Empress Zita’s wish that the location of the jewels remain secret until the 100th anniversary of her husband Charles’ death in 1922. The fate of the jewels had long been a mystery, with newspapers speculating as early as the 1920’s that they had likely been lost, stolen, or recut. The empress died in Switzerland in 1989 at the age of 92 but had passed along the Habsberg family secret to two of her sons. They, in turn, revealed the fate of the jewels to only two of their children. In the fall of 2025, the family publically announced the items had been kept in Quebec City and would, as was Empress Zita’s wish, be displayed in that city. In December 2025, the Austrian government established a commission of experts to establish whether the country has any claims on some of the jewels. That process is ongoing. Among the treasures, is a pocket watch once owned by Marie Antoinette. The museum describes it on its website as a “sumptuous accessory that is a rare intersection of fine jewellery and watchmaking.” The museum added that the watch had been placed in safekeeping during the French Revolution and in a locket on its backside is a lock of hair that may have belonged to Marie Antoinette’s mother. The centrepiece of the collection is the Florentine Diamond. It is one of the largest known diamonds, described as “remarkably pure” and of light-yellow colour. The museum describes it as a double rose cut that adds a second layer of facets on the underside of the gem to create more sparkle. It once belonged to the Medici family, rulers of Florence. Its mysterious disappearance became a plot point in novels, and films including a 2014 French movie called Le Dernier Diamant (The Last Diamand) in which a fictional character attempts to steal the Florentine Diamond. “For the first time, we are inviting the public to see these extraordinary masterpieces of European jewellery, whose brilliance, elegance, and story echo through history,” said Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Director General Jean Luc Murray in a statement. Empress Zita’s descendants say they are “delighted” that heir grandmother’s wish to have the family jewellery on display to people from around the world fulfilled. “She was acutely aware of our family’s cultural and historical responsibility, and it was deeply important to her that this significant private collection would once again be seen and appreciated at the right time, as is now the case at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec,” Karl von Habsburg added in his statement. One of her grandsons will be in Quebec City for the unveiling of the exhibit designed and produced in collaboration with the Saint Joseph Trust called Hidden Treasure: A Century of Mystery. Visitors will need to buy a plus admission ticket to be able to view the exhibition.
