FamouDiamondxaminedGIA

May19,2015
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TheHopeDiamond,theDresdenGreen,theIdolsEye,thePortugueseDiamondandtheMoussaieffRedthesefamousdiamondsarespectacularly
beautifuljewelsthathavebeenadmiredforcenturies.Anauraofmysteryhasalwayssurroundedtheserarenaturalwonders,soitwasquiteanhonor
whenGIAresearchersexaminedthem.

WGALLRY

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TheHopeDiamond

VS145.52ct
TheHopeDiamond.CourtesyofChipClark/SmithsonianInstitution.

TheHopeDiamondmaybethemostfamouscoloreddiamondintheworld.AteamofGIAgemologistsgradeditin1988.Becausetheywereableto
weighthediamondunmounted,theyquicklymadeanotablediscovery:thediamondwas45.52ct,andnot44.50ct,whichhadbeenitspreviously
recordedweight.GIAgradersalsoreportedthattheHopeDiamondisacushionbrilliantcut.ThediamondwascolorgradedasanaturalcolorFancy
darkgrayishbluediamond.
Sincethe1800s,theHopeDiamondhadbeendescribedasbeingflawless.Duringtheirexamination,theGIAteamnoticedthatthediamondhad
accumulatedafewwearmarksovertheyearsandhadwhitishgrainingandafewminorfeathers.ItsclaritywasgradedasVS1(Veryslightly
included).GoodpolishandFairtoGoodsymmetrywerealsonoted.Technicalspecificationsaside,theHopeDiamondcaptivatestheimaginationlike
noothergemstone.
TheDresdenGreen
41ct

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TheDresdenGreen

Inlate1988,GIAgemologistssecuredpermissiontoexaminethefamedDresdenGreendiamondintheGreenVaults,whichwastheninEast
Germany.Theywereparticularlyexcited,asitpromisedtoprovideinsightintodistinguishingnaturalfromlaboratoryirradiatedgreendiamonds
(radiationisusuallythecauseofcolorinbothinstances).Becausethediamondshistoryhadbeenrecordedsince1741,researcherscouldbe
confidentthatithadnotbeentreatedinalaboratory.Asthediamondremainedmounteduponexamination,GIAgemologistswerenotabletoissuea
gradingreport.
GIAresearchersdescribedtheDresdenGreenasFancygreen,withamodifiedpearshapedbrilliantcut.Thenaturalgreencolorhasmediumtone
andslightlygrayishsaturation.TheGreenVaultsrecordsindicateitweighs41ct.

ThePortugueseDiamond
VS1127.01ct

ThePortugueseDiamond.CourtesyofHaroldandEricaVanPelt.

OfSouthAfricanorigin,thePortugueseDiamondweighs127.01ct.GIAgemologistsgradeditanMontheGIAColorScale,andgaveitaVS1clarity
gradebecauseofasmallbruiseononeofthefacetsandtwoveryminorscratchesonthetable.
ThePortuguesehasVeryStrongbluefluorescence,andthismayhelpmaskthefaintyellowcolorinthediamond.Becausethefluorescenceisso
strong,in1924itwasadvertisedbyBlack,Starr&Frosttobeabluediamond.
IdolsEye
VVS170.20ct

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IdolsEye.CourtesyofGraffDiamonds.

Anotherfamousdiamondshroudedinmyth,theIdolsEyewasprobablyminedinIndiasGolcondaDistrictanareafamedforproducingfine
diamonds.Therearemanytalltalesaboutthediamond,includingonethatsaystheIdolsEyeisalsotheNassak.Thishasbeendisproven.Thefirst
confirmeddocumentationoftheIdolsEyewasinoneofthelotsbeingsoldatauctionbyChristiesLondoninJuly1865.
GIAgemologistsconfirmedthattheIdolsEyeweighs70.20ct.ItscolorgradeisVeryLightblueanditsclarityisVVS1(Veryveryslightlyincluded).
TheMoussaieffRed
5.11ct

TheMoussaieffRed

AlthoughtheMoussaieffRedweighsjust5.11ct,itsapredominantlyreddiamond(nosecondaryhueslikepurple),whichmeansitsincrediblyrare.A
descriptionofFancyredisremarkable.GIArecordsshowthatfrom1957to1987therewasnomentionofaGIAreportissuedforadiamondwithred
astheonlydescriptiveterm.
OnlyahandfulofFancyreddiamondsareknown,becauseindiamondsthecolorredisoftenmodifiedwithanotherhue,suchaspurplishredor
orangyred.
ABrazilianfarmerdiscoveredtheMoussaieffRedinthe1990s.Itwascutandpolishedfroma13.9ctcrystal.

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