MuseumFinds Fakes in Gem Collection

RAPAPORT... The National Museum in Prague has discovered a number of fakestones, including diamonds, sapphires and rubies, it saidlast week.The stones were found during an audit of the gemcollection while the museum was undergoing renovations. The Czech museum is remodelingin honor of the country's 100th anniversary, and will reopen inOctober, deputy director Michal Stehlik said in an interview with Radio Praha."When you have a collection of 20 million artifacts, then acertain fraction of that may prove to be problematic. These things happen," hesaid.The review revealed a 5-carat "diamond," acquired in the1960s, was actually glass cut to resemble a diamond. In addition, a 19-carat sapphire, for which the museum paid CZK 200,000 in the 1970s, thinking it was natural, turned out to be synthetic. A genuine sapphire of that size would be worth tens of millionsof crowns today, the museum noted. Currently, there are about 21 crowns to the dollar. Further examination showed that half theruby collection was also synthetic.The museum is taking steps to figure out whether the fakestones were part of a scam, or a lack of expertise among formeremployees. The time lapse since the stones were acquired, as well as the factthat the employee in charge of the collection at the time has since died, willmake tracing this information more difficult, it added.The museum is conducting a full audit of its artifacts -including musical instruments, precious metals and artwork - dueto conclude in 2020.Stehlik might then organize anexhibition of fakes found at various museums around the world, he added.Image: Carmelo Bayarcal