The Carcosa Diamond was our McGuffin. We deliberately established that there were no photos of it and no-one had seen it for some years... (while writing a full backstory for ourselves on *exactly* where it had been).

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The team were only able to find out that it had been previously owned by Rudolph II – as part of his collection of crystals curated by John Dee, then by Count Orlov, who purchased it in Amsterdam for a vast sum and gave it to

Catherine the Great who named it the Tsar Diamond. Napoleon stole it from Moscow and may have gifted it to a lover in Carcassone. Jack Parsons may have been the possible last owner before the reclusive Margot Lambert. As both the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and  an enthusiastic Crowley OTO follower, JP belongs in any story like this! Parsons died in suspicious circumstances in 1952, and when Col Bormann investigated the link he was firmly told to drop it by NASA and the CIA.

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Attempts to research Margot led to the discovery she was irredemably insane in an asylum, after having an affair with Parsons and fleeing via Israel, and the diamond was being sold on her behalf by lawyers.

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It seems to be wanted by everyone from the Vatican to the CIA, and most of all by Stepanov, who believed it would allow him to complete his quest for immortality...

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Having set up a whole series of complications in terms of stealing it from the Auction, including the fact it would only be brought to the room for authentication at the time of bidding and that the room would then be sealed.... it was time for the slick M:I team to carry out their heist....

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