One of the rarest diamonds in the world, the famed Wittelsbach-Graff Blue Diamond, will be on display at New York's American Museum of Natural History starting today and through January 2, 2011.

The stone – mined in India – originally weighed 35.56 carats and measured 24.40 millimeters in diameter by 8.29 millimeters in depth, and featured an unusual arrangement of 82 facets. Known also as Der Blaue Wittelsbacher, the blue diamond belonged to the Habsburg family. Maria Amalia brought it to Munich in 1722 on the occasion of her marriage to Charles of Bavaria, a Wittelsbach.

1745 saw the blue diamond mounted on the Order of the Golden Fleece. In 1806, Bavaria's first king – Maximilian IV Joseph von Wittelsbach – had the diamond set in his royal crown.

In 1931, the Wittelsbachs attempted to sell the diamond but couldn't find any purchaser. In the 1960s, jeweler Joseph Komkommer refused a request to re-cut the Wittelsbach blue diamond, and in partnership with other buyers, secured the stone, which became part of a private collection.

In 2008, jeweler Lawrence Graff paid £16.4 million for the stone, the highest price ever paid for a diamond, and caused considerable controversy in the diamond industry when he had it cut down to 31.06 carats to remove flaws. Following the modifications, the diamond's color grade was altered to Fancy Deep Blue.