Details
An important Fancy Yellow diamond and diamond ring
The attractive antique cushion-shaped Fancy Yellow diamond weighing 40.16 carats set within a pavé-set diamond scroll mount with baguette and triangular-cut diamond shoulder detail, mount circa 1940, diamond 19th Century
With certificate 10101958 dated 18/3/1997 from The Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is Fancy Yellow, natural colour, VS1 clarity
The attractive antique cushion-shaped Fancy Yellow diamond weighing 40.16 carats set within a pavé-set diamond scroll mount with baguette and triangular-cut diamond shoulder detail, mount circa 1940, diamond 19th Century
With certificate 10101958 dated 18/3/1997 from The Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is Fancy Yellow, natural colour, VS1 clarity
Further details
A FINE ANTIQUE FANCY YELLOW DIAMOND
by
Eric C. Emms F.G.A., D.G.A
Diamonds have been appreciated for thousands of years; the earliest discoveries occurring in India, several centuries before Christ, then in Borneo in the 10th Century AD. A steady supply to Europe of diamonds occurred only after 1730 when deposits in Brazil were commercially exploited by the Portuguese. By the 1850s, Brazil, the world's largest producer at that time, was exporting 200,000 carats of diamonds annually. However, it was only from 1870 onwards that large quantities of diamonds of significant size became available when the South African diamond fields were discovered and exploited. By 1887, the South African annual diamond production had increased to an astonishing 3,600,000 carats. Despite this substantial output of rough diamonds during the early years of production, the price of polished diamonds did not decline. The spread of wealth throughout Europe at this time had led to an increasing prosperity. With the new middle classes achieving affluence and adding their purchasing power to that of the nobility, the demand for diamonds in Europe grew appreciably. In America at this time, the economy flourished as the Middle and Far West American markets were opened up for commerce. The U.S. developed as an important customer for polished diamonds.
The 40.16 carats diamond offered as Lot 398 is a fine example of this type of large yellow gems discovered in the diamond mines near the town of Kimberley in South Africa. The crystal from which this gem has been polished would have weighed more than 70 carats.
The lightness (tone) and intensity (saturation) of the colour of the diamond warrants the "Fancy Yellow" colour grade description, as given by the Gemological Institute of America. The gem is a Type Ia diamond, for its yellow colour is due to the presence of aggregates of nitrogen atoms incorporated into its carbon structure. It is these aggregates which absorb light in the blue end of the spectrum resulting in our eyes seeing the pleasing yellow hue of this jewel.
The diamond is fashioned into the cushion shaped brilliant style, often referred to as the "old mine cut". This cutting style, which dates back to the seventeenth century, displays a four-fold symmetry, having a high crown, large culet facet and small lower girdle facets. The change in popular tastes favouring the modern round brilliant with its circular outline, thinner crown, negligible sized culet, larger table, longer lower girdle facets and eight-fold symmetry, began at the turn of the present century. Yet today, there are many who feel the appearance of the modern brilliant lacks the charm and romanticism of the older cushion brilliant.
ERIC EMMS is an independant diamond and precious stone specialist based in London.
by
Eric C. Emms F.G.A., D.G.A
Diamonds have been appreciated for thousands of years; the earliest discoveries occurring in India, several centuries before Christ, then in Borneo in the 10th Century AD. A steady supply to Europe of diamonds occurred only after 1730 when deposits in Brazil were commercially exploited by the Portuguese. By the 1850s, Brazil, the world's largest producer at that time, was exporting 200,000 carats of diamonds annually. However, it was only from 1870 onwards that large quantities of diamonds of significant size became available when the South African diamond fields were discovered and exploited. By 1887, the South African annual diamond production had increased to an astonishing 3,600,000 carats. Despite this substantial output of rough diamonds during the early years of production, the price of polished diamonds did not decline. The spread of wealth throughout Europe at this time had led to an increasing prosperity. With the new middle classes achieving affluence and adding their purchasing power to that of the nobility, the demand for diamonds in Europe grew appreciably. In America at this time, the economy flourished as the Middle and Far West American markets were opened up for commerce. The U.S. developed as an important customer for polished diamonds.
The 40.16 carats diamond offered as Lot 398 is a fine example of this type of large yellow gems discovered in the diamond mines near the town of Kimberley in South Africa. The crystal from which this gem has been polished would have weighed more than 70 carats.
The lightness (tone) and intensity (saturation) of the colour of the diamond warrants the "Fancy Yellow" colour grade description, as given by the Gemological Institute of America. The gem is a Type Ia diamond, for its yellow colour is due to the presence of aggregates of nitrogen atoms incorporated into its carbon structure. It is these aggregates which absorb light in the blue end of the spectrum resulting in our eyes seeing the pleasing yellow hue of this jewel.
The diamond is fashioned into the cushion shaped brilliant style, often referred to as the "old mine cut". This cutting style, which dates back to the seventeenth century, displays a four-fold symmetry, having a high crown, large culet facet and small lower girdle facets. The change in popular tastes favouring the modern round brilliant with its circular outline, thinner crown, negligible sized culet, larger table, longer lower girdle facets and eight-fold symmetry, began at the turn of the present century. Yet today, there are many who feel the appearance of the modern brilliant lacks the charm and romanticism of the older cushion brilliant.
ERIC EMMS is an independant diamond and precious stone specialist based in London.