Important Colourless Diamonds Pt 12

Star of Happiness

Star of Happiness

The “Star of Happiness” diamond is a diamond belonging to Sheik Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi, the Saudi based jeweller who is also a collector and connoisseur of diamonds. The name “Star of Happiness” seems to have been selected by Sheik Fitaihi, as three other diamonds in his collection also bear the name “Star”. In the naming of diamonds the tendency to select the name “Star” is usually a reflection of the extraordinary brilliance and fire of the diamond, which in turn is an indication of its superior cut, colour, and clarity.

The “Star of Happiness” diamond is a 100.36-carat, radiant-cut, D-colour, internally flawless (IF) diamond, with dimensions of 28.50 x 25.96 x 16.35 mm. It is the largest diamond in Sheik Fitaihi’s collection.

The early history of the diamond is not known. The only other fact known about the diamond is that it appeared at an auction in Geneva in November 1993 and was purchased by Sheik Ahmad Hassan Fitaihi for $11,800,000.

Sheik Ahmad Hassan Fitaihi first attended international jewelry auctions in the early 1990s, and soon became a force to be reckoned with at these auctions. The Sheik together with Robert Mouawad of Mouawad Jewelers, Laurence Graff of London-based Graff Diamonds, and Sam Abram of SIBA Corporation have been responsible for some of the astonishingly high diamond prices achieved in recent years.

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Golconda D

Golconda D

The “Golconda D” diamond is an internally flawless, brilliant-cut, D-colour diamond, with a weight of 47.29 carats.  The “Golconda D” diamond was acquired by Graff after two of his associates in Bombay reported the appearance of the 50-carat brilliant-cut diamond, which was once believed to have been set on the Peacock throne made for Shah Jahaan in the 17th century.

Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne

Graff initiated negotiations with the owners of the diamond in Bombay and was successful in acquiring the diamond. He got the diamond slightly re-cut and polished by his master cutters in New York, and the finished stone turned out to be a 47.29-carat, flawless, brilliant cut, absolutely colourless diamond, so characteristic of the renowned Golconda diamonds. As the diamond was believed to have originated in the historic Golconda mines of Southern India, Graff named the diamond “Golconda D” diamond.

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Hastings

Possibly the Hastings Diamond

If ever there was a famous diamond named for a certified scoundrel, it’s the Hastings Diamond. Using this gem as a tool to enhance his questionable reputation, politically blindside his unsuspecting King, and throw a country into turmoil, this diamond’s namesake, Warren Hastings (1732-1818,) was – either by design or stupidity – a master in stirring controversy. Appointed the British Governor-General of India from 1773 to 1784, Hastings created such a huge political headache for King George III that the monarch became the subject of some of the most scathing political satire of his time.

Warren Hastings

All of this controversy began as an innocent gesture when in 1785 Nizam Ali Kahn of the Deccan decided to give a 101-carat diamond as a gift to King George III. Nizam’s mistake was selecting Hastings as his go-between in presenting the impressive stone to the King. Hastings was bestowed with the task of passing this gift from one monarch to another at a time when the former British Governor-General was on trial in England for so-called “irregularities” while in power.

The diamond’s arrival in England in 1786 immediately followed a crucial trial vote in the matter of Hastings’ ongoing political problems. In an effort to gain favour with his King, Hastings, presented the diamond to King George

King George III

III, omitting the fact that it was a gift from Nizan Ali Kahn. Leaving the impression that it was a personal gift from him to King George III, the British media of the day inferred to the public that King George III accepted the diamond as a bribe from Hastings to secure his influence on the positive verdict. Without the true facts, the public became predictably incensed at the news which the media stoked to a fever pitch. Hastings backed away from the firestorm, taking no action to defend his King.

Meanwhile, the luckless King George III was reduced to the role of Hastings’ patsy and the British monarch was now forced to endure additional public ridicule. Much of it came from cartoons displayed in shop windows.

For all the media hoopla and the pain endured by King George III, the current fate of

Westminster Tiara

the Hastings Diamond is unknown, having disappeared after the scandal. There is some faction that believes it may have become the central stone in the Westminster tiara. However, the round brilliant diamond featured in the centre of the Westminster tiara weighed only 32.20 carats. Harry Winston purchased the tiara in 1959 from Sotheby’s and he re-cut the stone to 26.77 carats and sold it to a private client. The diamond resurfaced, again for sale, in 1970. Because of the vast discrepancy in the size of the diamond from the tiara and the reported weight of the Hastings, we can never be absolutely sure that this is the Hastings diamond.

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Graff Sweethearts

Graff Sweethearts

Since Graff is known to work with only the most exceptional stones, the Graff Sweethearts are two matching diamonds of D colour, flawless clarity and each one exceeds the 50 carats mark. These rare type IIA diamonds (the most chemically pure grading of diamond in existence), originated from two separate diamonds that were mined at the Letseng mine in Lesotho. Laurence Graff acquired the roughs

Graff Sweethearts Earrings

from an auction and the rest is history. After the cutting process was over, a 51.53 ct and a 50.76 ct masterpiece diamonds, bearing excellent polish and symmetry, were unveiled and made into a pair of earrings. The fact that these two exceptional stones were the world’s first matching pair of heart shaped diamonds of this remarkable purity and quality were found from the same mine and are both flawless including being of the highest grade makes them extraordinarily special.

 

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The Jones Diamond

(Also known as the Punch Jones Diamond, the Grover Jones Diamond and the Horseshoe Diamond)

Jones Diamond

The Jones diamond is an uncut naturally formed dodecahedral crystal, weighing 34.48 carats and has a white colour. It has the rare distinction of being the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in North America.

Twelve-year-old William P. “Punch” Jones and his father, Grover C. Jones, Sr. were pitching horseshoes in Peterstown, West Virginia one day in April 1928 when one of the shoes landed on an unusually beautiful stone. Believing the item to be simply a piece of shiny quartz, the family kept it in a wooden cigar box inside a tool shed for fourteen years. Punch Jones, meantime, worked his way through college during that time while his father struggled as a county school teacher to provide for his large family.

On May 5, 1943, Punch brought the stone to Dr Roy J. Holden, a geology professor at

Historical marker in Peterstown, WV, where the diamond was found.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute in nearby Blacksburg, Virginia. Holden, shocked at Punch’s discovery, authenticated the find as a diamond.  Dr Holden speculated that due to its “carry impact marks” and the size of the stone it had probably been washed down the New River into Rich Creek from a source in Virginia, North Carolina or Tennessee.

He sent it to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remained for many years for display and safekeeping. In February of 1964, the Jones family bought the diamond back and placed it in a safe deposit box in the First Valley National Bank in Rich Creek, Virginia.

When Grover died in 1976 his widow Grace and grandson Robert became owners of the diamond (Punch had been killed in World War II.) In 1984, Robert sold the diamond through Sotheby’s auction house in New York to an agent representing a lawyer in the Orient, for $74,250.

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Graff Eternal Light

Graff Eternal Light

 

The Eternal Light diamond at 85.91 carats was one of the first of the large new stones to come up for auction in 1987. It was pear-shaped, ‘D’ Flawless and no one was selling such big stones at the time except Graff, who paid $10 million for it and kept it for 10 months before selling it to a member of a Royal Family.

 

 

 

 

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Amarillo Starlight

Amarillo Starlight diamond

The Amarillo Starlight rough diamond, a 16.37-carat white stone was discovered in 1975 by W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas, while he was on vacation with his family, at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, in Arkansas, where one could search for diamonds after paying a nominal fee and keep what he finds. Mr Johnson decided to take his family out on the popular diamond searching adventure in the park, a pastime in which all visitors to the park usually engage in, and was rewarded with this unusual and impressive find.

In keeping with the park’s policy that “finders are keepers” Mr Johnson became the owner of the diamond. He subsequently got the diamond cut into a marquise-shape weighing 7.54 carats, with the inevitable loss of 8.83 carats, equivalent to 54% of the original rough diamond. Such losses are common in the processing of diamonds, in the attempts to achieve the highest quality diamonds, with the maximum fire and brilliance. Its value has been estimated between $150,000 and $175,000.

Amarillo Starlight rough diamond

The 16.37-carat white rough diamond became the largest diamond ever unearthed by a park visitor following the Crater’s establishment as a state park in 1972. The diamond still holds this record up to date. However, in the list of notable diamonds discovered at the Crater of Diamonds Park, the Amarillo Starlight occupies the 4th position, being the 4th largest rough diamond discovered so far in the history of exploitation of the crater. The Crater of Diamonds Park is the world’s one and only diamond mine open to the public.

The 7.54 Amarillo Starlight was sold in New York to an unknown buyer. The family still owns the offcut pieces of the original rough.

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Light of Hope

Light of Hope Diamond

 

In 2010 Harry Winston acquired an exceptional 108-carat D-colour, flawless emerald-cut diamond, which was set as a necklace and given the name ‘Light of Hope’. I found this information in the ‘Harry Winston’ book. However, despite hours of searching, I could find no other information or

Light of Hope Necklace

pictures of either the diamond or the necklace. I thought I would include it as it is a substantial diamond and absolutely gorgeous!