The Lesson of the Cullinan Diamond
In January 1905, South African miners unearthed the largest rough gem diamond ever discovered. Uncut, it weighed over one pound. Today, the total value of the gems cut from the stone exceeds two billion dollars. But it’s the story of it’s transportation to Europe which has the most value for us.
Shortly after its discovery, the gigantic gem was sent to Buckingham Palace. The measures taken to ensure its safety were, to say the least, extraordinary.
With great pomp and circumstance, a heavily armed procession made its way to the harbour and onto a waiting steamship. There, a package was carried to the captain’s cabin and locked into the safe. Detectives stood guard around the clock until the ship arrived in England.
While all this was going on, the Cullinan Diamond had been sent to Buckingham Palace in a plain package by registered mail.
You read that correctly. Plain package. Registered mail. And do you know what? It arrived every bit as safely as its decoy.
Whether that was smart, or not, is for you to decide. But the lesson for all of us is this: sometimes all is not as it seems to be, or as it sounds. Decoys exist not only on the duck pond– a fact worth remembering when watching magic performed or when assessing important matters.