The Allnatt Diamond - Famous Diamond

When Porter Rhodes traveled to the Isle of Wight in 1881 to show to his fine white diamond crystal to Queen Victoria and Empress Eugenie of France, who was at that time residing nearby, he helped to dispel a myth: South African diamonds were usually yellowish in color and therefore less valuable. Both the Queen but in particular the Empress, who was knowledgeable about diamonds, believed this to be true and were, therefore, surprised to examine a fine white octahedral crystal originating from the Cape Mines of South Africa. It was not until the Excelsior was found in 1893, the Jubilee in 1895 and above all, the discovery of the Premier Mine in 1902 that South Africa finally achieved recognition as a source of large white diamonds as well as yellow ones. The early years of the South African diamond mining industry certainly witnessed the appearance, in unheard of numbers, of large yellow crystals, many of them octahedral in shape. The reigning Shah of Persia, Nasir ud-Din Shah (1848-1860) was among the first to appreciate them because he added numerous yellow diamonds to the Crown Jewels of Iran, the largest of which is a 135-carat monster rivaling the Regent Diamond in size and shape. A few, including the Tiffany Yellow, came from the Kimberly Mine but by far the greatest number originated in the De Beers Mine, which is the most likely source the Allnatt originated from.This 102.29-carat cushion cut, its color having been certified by the GIA as Fancy Vivid Yellow, VS2 clarity, is named after its former owner, Alfred Ernest Allnatt. He was a soldier, a sportsman, an active patron of the arts and a noted benefactor in many spheres. He paid a then world record price for The Adoration of the Magi by Rubens which he presented to King's College, Cambridge, England, as an alterpiece for its famous chapel. He also had a passion for the Turf and bought 11 yearlings formerly owned by the late Sir Sultan Mohammed Aga Khan; he commented at the time, "All I know about horses is they are nice things to amble about on." The Aga Khan also owned several exceptional diamonds, among them the 33.13-carat pear-shaped Aga Khan III, which came up for sale at Christie's in Geneva in May of 1988.Major Allnatt did not buy any of the Aga Khan's diamonds to add to his yearlings, but he did purchase this very fine diamond and in the early-1950s he commissioned Cartier to design a floral brooch setting for it. The piece is a design of a flower with five petals, lined with white baguette-cut diamonds, the petals themselves being comprised of brilliant cut diamonds, and the stem and two leaves also being comprised of the same cutting styles. The Allnatt is at the center of the flower. The entire piece is made of platinum. It was auctioned by Christies, again in Geneva, in May of 1996. On that occasion it fetched the phenomenal sum of $3,043,496. The present owner of the gem is the SIBA Corporation.

Actress Jenna Elfman opens the Splendour of Diamonds Exhibit at the Smithsonian, the Allnatt Diamond being the large yellow stone in front of her on the pad. The Millennium Star, at the left, is set in a diamond necklace.The Allnatt paid a visit to the Smithsonian Museum in 2003, being part of an exhibit titled The Splendour of Diamonds. The exhibit lasted from June 27th to September 15th and featured a number of other unusual colored diamonds, namely the Millennium Star, the Heart of Eternity, the Pumpkin Diamond, the Red Shield Diamond (now known as the Moussaieff Red), the Ocean Dream, and the Steinmetz Pink.

Sell diamonds - Tips and things to know

Diamonds are more than shiny stones and exquisite pieces of jewelry, they are also extremely desirable investments, mostly because of their liquidity which makes diamonds sell fairly easy. Here are some tips that will come very handy when selling diamonds. As with many other things too, when selling something it is of most important value to know as much as you can. With diamonds the excellent starting point are of course the famous 4C's . This are really the basic things you should know before starting selling diamonds. Of course do more you know gives you in better negotiating position when selling diamonds.In case you prefer an expert opinion about the real value of your diamond before selling it the wise thing to do would be to have it appraised at its Rapaport value. This Rapaport value is basically a diamond's wholesale value that has special weight because of its fame. This of course isn't the cheapest solution but it gives you valuable data about real value of your diamond so you can start the negotiations knowing the actual value of diamond. Of course you will want as much as you can get for your diamond so you should try finding someone that could pay you more than wholesale value.


Diamond are very liquid "merchandise" so selling them is fairly easyThe thing that can significantly increase the price of diamond is its history. Diamonds with formidable history are most easiest to sell, mostly through famous auction houses, where there are of course extremely wealthy buyers. However very few diamonds have rich history so most diamond sellers have the "usual diamonds" to sell which are diamonds of average quality and without the history. Many people decide to sell diamonds on Ebay. Experiences of selling diamonds on Ebay are very different, from very satisfying to extremely negative. If you decide to go with Ebay make sure to have your payment placed in escrow. This way while your buyer examines the diamond you won't be exposed to risk of losing both your money and your diamond.Many people wonder what about going to local jewelry store? Is this good solution to sell your diamonds? Don't expect too much form jewelers because they will try to lower the diamond price as much as possible, in most cases people get even below 50 % of diamond actual value. They tell you the usual things that your diamond is anything but perfect, poorly cut, too much inclusions, etc...This is where before mentioned Rapaport value comes more than handy. With Rapaport value you'll know exactly is the offer from your jeweler acceptable or not.If you search the net you can also find some online diamond buyers. They can sometimes give you fair price for your diamond. In any case follow the basic economic rule -try to get as much money as possible. Good luck.

Rough diamond evaluation - Things to know

There are many things that determine the quality of rough diamond evaluation, and lot of these things can be learned on different rough diamond evaluation and grading courses. These courses usually do not last very long but even in this short time you can learn a lot about diamonds that can make the real difference in many cases. There are many things that can be learned here such as:-correct use of a loupe (the starting point that is necessary to proceed further with rough diamond evaluation )-how to tell difference between real and fake diamonds (probably the most important thing in diamond business)-learn to recognize flaws and inclusion on diamond(s) and its influence on final diamond price-learn about all kind of diamond properties (thermal, chemical, mechanical)-how to select rough diamonds that will later be good for fancy shapes-how to determine color of diamond ant the effect color has on diamond price-classification of not only natural but also synthetic diamonds-how good is certain diamond for certain cut, which one is recommended given diamond shape, and number of inclusionsThese are only some of the things you can learn on these courses, and in about two weeks time. It is the same with diamond education as it with other types of education the more you learn the better for you. These courses are not too expensive either, and some can be even found in the price range below $2000.

Diamond’s color plays a key role

Diamond’s color plays a key role in determining diamond’s value and beauty and this is the reason why sometimes jewelers set diamonds in groups of similar colors. The diamond color scale usually starts from D meaning best blue White to Z meaning dark colored diamonds. This scale has been widely accepted in almost all countries superseding some older scaling systems.It’s also important to mention that professional grading labs judge color of individual diamond from the side of the diamond and not from the top. Diamonds graded D-F are considered "colorless", G-J are considered "near-colorless", K-M are "slightly colored", N-Y usually appear light yellow or brown.Chemically speaking perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no color, but in reality there’s no absolutely perfect diamond. Diamond’s color depends on chemical impurities and structural defects in crystal lattice of diamond.Diamond’s color can detract or enhance its value which depends on the hue and intensity of diamond’s coloration which can have great effect on diamond’s price. For instance if there’s a detectable yellow hue in diamond this will increase the price of the diamond while on the other hand intense blue color will be much more expensive.Majority of diamonds used in jewelry pieces are white diamonds. Nitrogen is the most common impurity giving diamond yellow or even brown color. Rarity is very important factor when talking about diamond’s color because for instance diamonds graded Z are rare and therefore expensive and so are bright yellow and some other colors.Only yellow and brown hues are often, except earlier explained exceptions meaning that diamonds of all other colors are rarer and therefore more expensive. These colored diamonds are often labeled as “fancy” diamonds because of unusual colors of these diamonds. There’s also a rating system for this diamonds developed by gemologists although not in common use because of rarity of these diamonds.CUTCut refers to the manner in which the diamond has been shaped, namely to the proportion, symmetry and finish of a polished diamond. The cut of certain diamond describes the quality and the skilled hand of the master cutter.Cut gets often confused with shape because there are a number of traditional diamond’s shapes. Round brilliant diamond is the most popular shape. Round brilliant diamond if well-cut reflects the maximum light and sparkles more than any other used shape. Round brilliant diamonds are guided with mathematical guidelines for the ratios of angle and length in order to reflect maximum amount of light. Round brilliant diamond is the most expensive shape because 50 % of the rough diamond gets lost while cutting a round shape which is much bigger loss than other shapes.Second most popular technique is known as “princess cut diamonds” which is a square shape. This technique is used rarely compared to round brilliant diamonds, because 80-85 % of diamonds gets cut to round brilliant and only 5-10 % are "princess cut diamonds".Cutting technique is all about getting the better sparkle and is vital factor to visual impression of diamond. Diamond cutting is a technique that has been developed through many centuries with its greatest moments in person of Marcel Tolkowsky. This mathematician and gemologist developed the round brilliant cut when he calculated ideal shape to return and scatter light when watching diamond from above. This is the table of Tolkowsky’s perfect dimensions.Tolkovsky defines ideal dimensions to have:
Table percentage (table diameter divided by overall diameter) = 53%
Depth percentage (Overall depth divided by the overall diameter) = 59.3%
Pavilion Angle (Angle between the girdle and the pavilion) = 40.75°
Crown Angle (Angle between the girdle and the crown) = 34.5°
Pavilion Depth (Depth of pavilion divided by overall diameter) = 43.1%
Crown Depth (Depth of crown divided by crown diameter) = 16,2 %This ideal Tolkowsky’s dimensions have unfortunately very small area in which diamond can be considered perfect and any declination from these dimensions means less reflected light. Since today is a certain financial premium for a diamond that weighs 1,0 carat or more, many diamonds are being cut very poorly just to get pass this magical weight.In order to achieve ideal, round brilliant diamonds aren’t allowed to have depth percentage that is bigger than 62,5 %, and overall diameter of typical round brilliant 1,0 carat diamond should be about 6,5 mm, because diameter of a round brilliant should be about 6,5 times bigger than the cube root of carat weight.Of course, definition of ideal cut is sometimes very subjective and therefore controversial. Although this mathematical model of Tolkowsky was a real breaking point, it’s been superseded by the GIA Facetware software.Some fancy cuts like baguette, marquise, briolette pear cuts are used too although they aren’t holding the same precise Tolkowsky standards and are great deal influenced with fashion.Diamond cutters for instance prefer more princess cut style than the round brilliant because much less material is wasted in princess cut. Some cuts even include extra facets, although their improvement value compared to Tolkowsky's model stays doubtful.Quality of the cut is by many considered to be most important thing when judging beauty of individual diamond because well cut diamond often appears bigger than it really is and has better qualities of color and clarity. That’s why this technique is very important because quality of the cut determines eventual price of individual diamond. Despite the standard called Facetware that was set by GIA, many different theories about ideal cut still exist and are often subject of many controversies.

(Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat)

The most common usage of diamonds today is as gemstones used for jewelry. When buying a diamond you should always have four factors (four Cs) in the mind. These four Cs are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat. Majority of gem diamonds is traded on the wholesale market based on single values for each of these 4 factors. To set expected price range you need to know all four factors and consumers that are purchasing individual diamonds are often advice to use the 4 Cs in order to buy diamond that is just right for them. However although main characteristics of each diamond are described with four Cs you also need to consider some other characteristics, for instance presence of fluorescence of individual diamond and even history of the diamond (its previous owners and its source).Evaluation of gemological institute is another contributing factor that affects diamond’s price. Most recognized gemological association is Gemological Institute of America (GIA). GIA has long history in performing evaluations on diamonds because they were first laboratory in America to issue modern diamond reports and evaluations and are known for their consistency. Evaluation is very important especially when judging color and clarity because here is very much needed professional assistance and experienced eye unlike carat weight and cut angles that are mathematically defined. Among other highly judged evaluation societies are also American Gemological Society and Diamond High Council located in Antwerp, Belgium. Antwerp is the major city of world's diamond industry. So let us begin with four CS.

CARAT

As it was already mentioned, diamonds were first discovered in India. The first unit of weight that was used for the diamonds was the carob seed or to be more precise the weight of the seed from the seed pod of the carob or locust tree was equivalent to a 1,00 carat diamond. Today weight of the diamonds is measured in carats and one carat is defined as 200 milligrams.Here is important to say that diamonds weight is related but is not the same as its size because two diamonds with same shape, with equal carat weight, clarity and color that were cut from the same rough could have different size depending of proportion of each of these two diamonds where better cut diamond will look bigger than the one that wasn’t cut that good. The price per carat isn’t increasing in exact proportion with its size. Diamond prices in fact go up exponentially with carat weight because demand is much bigger for diamonds that are weighing more cause they are very rare to find. For instance doubling the carat weight from one carat to two carat will raise the price more than two times, and this is even more expressed when one diamond’s weight is under one carat and one just above one carat because the one just under 1,00 carat (for example 0,95) will have significantly smaller price than the one that is just above 1,00 carat (for example 1,05) all because of difference in demand. This is all because in average half of diamond gets lost when cutting, which means that for larger cut diamond, larger rough diamond is required and therefore the price increases most steeply with carat.In determining actual diamond’s price important role goes to Rapaport Diamond Report, which is weekly diamond price list that is published every week by Martin Rapaport, CEO of Rapaport Group of New York for different diamond cuts, clarity and carat weights. This weekly report is in fact baseline for retail-price because jewelers trade diamonds at negotiated discounts off the Rapaport Price. Phrase “total carat weight” or t.c.w. is also a much known phrase in the world of diamonds and describes total mass of diamonds in some piece of jewelry when more than one diamond is used. Total carat weight is widely used for diamonds earrings, diamond bracelets, diamond necklaces and other similar jewelry indicating the mass of all diamonds used in certain piece of jewelry.CLARITYMajority of the diamonds have internal defects known as “inclusions”. Clarity is measure of diamond’s inclusions. These inclusions can be crystals, structural imperfections or some foreign material that have as a consequence less light passing through diamond. If these inclusions are small or if there’s a few of them, more light can pass through the diamond, making it more beautiful and of course more expensive.There’s no gemstone that can produce the amount of brilliance that diamond can. Diamonds that are free of inclusions are very rare and therefore very expensive. Clarity of each diamond depends on number, size, location and visibility of inclusions.Clarity of individual diamond can be affected by two types of inclusions – External and internal. External inclusions are impurities on the surface of the diamond and the interior inclusions are impurities in the interior of the diamond (majority of internal imperfections is the result of breakage in the chemical structure of individual diamond.Gemological institute of America and other organizations have developed systems to grade diamond’s clarity. Most common is the use of hand held loupe or microscope based on the 10-power magnification which generally speaking means that any imperfection that is not visible with x10 magnification isn’t really imperfection and isn’t considered while grading diamond’s clarity.There are ten levels of grading scale from I.F which means internally flawless which is the best and all the way to the P.3-1.3 meaning heavy inclusion that are visible with naked eye. Small numbers of diamonds have good enough clarity to be used in jewelry pieces, only about 20 % of them while others are used in industry.Although most inclusion isn’t affecting diamond’s structural integrity some inclusion like large clouds or large crack can cause unwanted consequences in form of lack of diamond’s ability to transmit and scatter light and may even completely reduce diamond’s resistance to breakage.

World's oldest diamonds are?

Diamonds are usually one or two billions years old, but what about world's oldest diamonds, where do they come from, which part of the world is their home? In 2006 scientists discovered diamond fields in Canada’s Northwest Territories and thought they have found the oldest diamonds on Earth as these diamonds were formed 3.5 billion years ago in an era called the Archean, this was time when Earth was forming its first continents. But these diamonds didn't carried title "world's oldest diamonds" for a very long time. In fact their fame lasted just one year when the 4 billion year old diamonds were found trapped inside zircon crystals from the Jack Hills region, few hundreds kilometres north of the Western Australian capital Perth.

World's most famous diamond?

One reader recently asked me what is the name of the world's most famous diamond? Since there are many famous diamonds it is really difficult to name just one as world's most famous diamond but my three top candidates for this prestige title would be The Blue Hope, Dresden Green, and of course Star of the Africa. Let me explain what made me choose these three diamonds.