Origin of name
The Allnatt diamond derives its name from the onetime
owner of the diamond, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt, who was a soldier,
sportsman, art connoisseur, and philanthropist.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Allnatt diamond is a 101.29-carat, cushion-cut, fancy
vivid yellow diamond with a VS-2 clarity, as certified by the Gemological
Institute of America. Fancy vivid is the highest color grading that can be
given to colored diamonds in the GIA color grading scale.
Being a fancy vivid yellow diamond, the Allnatt is
without any doubt a Type Ib diamond, in which the intense yellow color is
produced by nitrogen atoms scattered as single atoms in the crystal
structure. These nitrogen atoms absorb visible light in the blue region of
the spectrum, causing the complementary color of blue, which is yellow to
manifest itself. However the occurrence of these diamonds are only about 0.1
% of all naturally occurring diamonds, and are therefore quite scarce.
Type Ia diamonds on the other hand, have an occurrence of
almost 98 % in nature, and a great majority of natural diamonds belong to
this group. These diamonds vary from near colorless to pale and medium
yellow colors. Nitrogen atoms in these diamonds are found as groups of 2, 3
or 4 atoms. If found as groups of 2 or 4 atoms they do not affect the color
of diamonds. However if nitrogen occurs as groups of 3 atoms, known as N3
centers, it can impart a pale to medium yellow color to the diamonds,
depending on the concentration of the N3 centers. Usually groups of 2, 3,
and 4 atoms occur together in the same crystal, and such diamonds are known
as Type IaAB diamonds.
In the list of famous yellow diamonds greater than 100
carats in weight, the Allnatt diamond occupies the 28th position. However,
in the entire list those listed as fancy vivid, fancy intense, and canary
yellow, all of which are Type Ib diamonds are only a few.
List of famous yellow
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
Color |
|
1 |
Incomparable |
407.48 |
shield shaped |
fancy brownish yellow |
|
2 |
Oppenheimer-uncut |
253.70 |
natural octahedral |
yellow |
|
3 |
De Beers |
234.65 |
cushion |
light yellow |
|
4 |
Red Cross |
205.07 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
5 |
unnamed |
200.87 |
pear |
yellow |
|
6 |
Moon |
183.00 |
round |
pale yellow |
|
7 |
unnamed |
180.85 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
8 |
Star of Peace |
170.49 |
pear |
brownish yellow |
|
9 |
Hope of Africa |
151.91 |
cushion |
fancy yellow |
|
10 |
Unnamed |
150.00 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
11 |
Florentine |
137.27 |
double rose cut |
light yellow |
|
12 |
Algeiba Star |
135.03 |
square brilliant |
yellow |
|
13 |
Sarah |
132.43 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
14 |
Golden Hue |
132.42 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
15 |
Tiffany Yellow |
128.54 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
16 |
Stewart |
123.00 |
brilliant |
yellow |
|
17 |
Meister |
118.00 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
18 |
Vainer Briolette |
116.60 |
briolette |
fancy light yellow |
|
19 |
Unnamed |
114.64 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
20 |
Unnamed |
114.03 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
21 |
Mouna |
112.50 |
cushion |
fancy intense yellow |
|
22 |
African Yellow |
112.00 |
- |
yellow |
|
23 |
Anon |
108.04 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
24 |
Rojtman |
107.46 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
25 |
Golden Sun |
105.54 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
26 |
Golden Door |
104.95 |
pear |
yellow |
|
27 |
Ashberg |
102.48 |
cushion |
fancy brownish yellow |
|
28 |
Alnatt |
101.29 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
29 |
Sunrise |
100.52 |
emerald |
yellow |
History
The early history of the diamond such as the country of
origin, mine of origin, date of origin, original owners of the diamond, etc.
are not known. But, the diamond was purchased by Major Alfred Earnest
Allnatt in the early 1950s, and experts in the trade believe that the
diamond is undoubtedly of South African origin, as it bears all the
characteristics of a South African diamond. In fact in the early years of
diamond production in South Africa in the late 19th century, starting from
the 1860s t0 the 1890s, diamonds produced in South Africa were mainly of
different shades of yellow and sometimes brown colors, and were known
as the Cape Series. These diamonds were considered to be of poor quality,
and fetched lower prices in the diamond market. Among the reigning monarchs
who first appreciated the beauty of these yellow diamonds, was Nasser-ed-Din
Shah (1848-96), of Iran, who purchased a collection of 23 yellow diamonds on
his third trip to Europe in 1889. The largest of these diamonds was a
rectangular brilliant of 152.16 carats. The Iranian yellow diamonds are now
an important part of the Iranian National Royal Jewels, in the Museum of the
Treasury of National Iranian Jewels. According to the museum authorities,
Nasser-ed-Din Shah, actually purchased 48 pieces of big yellow diamonds from
Europe during his reign, and all of them are preserved in the museum.
Most of these yellow diamonds no doubt
originated in the first two deep diamond mines dug on the farm
belonging to Nicolas and Diederick de Beer, known as the Kimberley and the
De Beers diamond mines, which were at one time the world's most productive
mines. Subsequently, the opening of the Jagersfontein mine in 1888, in
which were discovered two of the largest colorless diamonds the 995-carat
Excelsior diamond in 1893 and the 650-carat Reitz diamond in 1895, changed
the whole perception of the quality of the diamonds produced in South
Africa. Besides the opening of the Premier diamond mines in 1902, in which
was discovered in 1905, the largest ever, gem-quality, rough,
colorless diamond in the world, the 3,106-carats Cullinan diamond, helped to
consolidate the view that South Africa was also a producer of high quality
colorless or white diamonds. Later the discovery of rare fancy colored diamonds
such as blue and pink, in the Premier diamond
mines, helped to consolidate this view further. The Allnatt diamond
might also have originated in one of the deep diamond mines situated in the
Kimberley region.
After purchasing the diamond in the early 1950s, Major
Alfred Ernest Allnatt, entrusted the jewelry firm Cartier's to manufacture
an appropriate setting for the diamond. In executing this order Cartier's
turned out a beautiful setting for the diamond, consisting of a platinum
flower with five petals, a stem and two leaves, all set with diamonds. At
the time the Allnatt was purchased by the Major, it weighed 102.07 carats,
and had a cushion-cut, whose color rating was subsequently found to be fancy
intense yellow.
Last transaction and
present owners of the diamond
In May 1996, the Allnatt was put up for sale at an
auction conducted by Christie's of Geneva. The successful bidder at this
auction was the SIBA Corporation of Hong Kong, who purchased the Allnatt for
a sum of around $ 3.05 million. SIBA had already in its collection another
famous diamond the Agra, which it purchased on June 20, 1990, for £ 4.07
million, also at a Christie's auction. After purchasing the Allnatt, the
SIBA Corporation had the stone re-cut, still as a cushion-cut diamond, but
the weight of the stone decreased to 101.29 carats, and the color intensity
was upgraded to fancy vivid yellow.
Allnatt exhibited at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Allnatt diamond was exhibited on two occasions at the
Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Insitution, in Washington DC, one
in 2003 and the other in 2005. In 2003, it was part of the "Splendor
of Diamonds" exhibition, held between June 27 and September 30, that also
featured other famous diamonds such as the Millennium Star, the Steinmetz
Pink, the Pumpkin, the Heart of Eternity, the Ocean Dream, and the
Moussaieff Red. In 2005, the Allnatt was part of the "Diamonds" exhibition
held between July 8, 2005, and February 26, 2006, that featured a star
line-up of eight of the world's most incredible diamonds, displayed together
for the first time. This included the De beers Millennium Star, the
Steinmetz Pink, the Incomparable, the Ocean Dream, the Allnatt, the
Moussaieff Red, the Heart of Eternity, the 616 diamond, the Eureka, the Shah
Jahan, and the famous Aurora collection consisting of 296 natural fancy
colored diamonds.
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