Jubilee Diamond
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Weight | 245.35 carats (49.070 g) |
---|---|
Color | E-grade colourless |
Cut | Cushion |
Country of origin | South Africa |
Mine of origin | Jagersfontein Mine |
Discovered | 1895 |
Cut by | M.B. Barends |
Original owner | Wernher, Beit & Co.; Barnato Bros.; Mosenthal Sons & Co. (consortium) |
Owner | Robert Mouawad |
The Jubilee Diamond, originally known as the Reitz Diamond is a colourless, cushion-shaped
The original stone, a rough octahedron weighing 650.80 carats (130.16 g), was discovered in 1895 at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa. A consortium of diamond merchants from London purchased it along with its even larger sister, the Excelsior, in 1896, and sent it to Amsterdam where it was polished by M.B. Barends. A 40 carat (8 g) chunk was removed, which itself yielded a 13.34 carat (2.668 g) pear-shaped gem eventually purchased by Carlos I of Portugal.
Dorabji Tata acquired the Jubilee Diamond around 1900 and gave it to his wife Meherbai who used to wear it during her visits to the royal courts and public functions. The Jubilee Diamond was the largest in the world until 1905 when a bigger diamond, the Cullinan I also known as the Great Star of Africa which was itself cut from an even larger rough diamond - The Cullinan Diamond, was exhibited. It was sold after his death in 1932, and the money went to the formation of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.[1]
See also
Further reading
- Shipley, Robert (1935). Famous Diamonds of the World, pp. 10–11. Gemological Institute of America, USA, Vol. 1, No. 9 (May-June)
References
- "The Jubilee", Famous, Historic and Notable Diamonds
- ^ The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust – A Historical Perspective Archived 2010-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust website