Origin of name
The Blue Empress diamond belonging to the Steinmetz Group
of Geneva, is a recently discovered diamond unveiled to the world in
November 2003, at the Harrods Department Store, in London. The name of the
diamond no doubt emphasizes the rare blue color of the diamond but the
appellation empress seems to signify the exceptional quality of the diamond,
which seems to say that the diamond is an empress among blue diamonds.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Blue Empress diamond is a pear-shaped, rare blue
diamond, weighing 14 carats. The color and clarity grade of the diamond are
not known.
The Blue Empress diamond occupies the 8th position in the
list of known famous blue diamonds given below.
List of famous blue
diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
carat weight |
color |
|
1 |
Hope diamond |
45.52 |
fancy dark grayish blue |
|
2 |
Tereschenko |
42.92 |
fancy blue |
|
3 |
Wittelsbach |
35.56 |
fancy intense blue |
|
4 |
Sultan of Morocco |
35.27 |
fancy grayish blue |
|
5 |
The Blue Heart |
30.82 |
fancy intense blue |
|
6 |
The Heart of Eternity |
27.64 |
fancy vivid blue |
|
7 |
Transvaal Blue |
25.00 |
unknown color grade |
|
8 |
The Blue Empress |
14.00 |
unknown color grade |
|
9 |
The Blue Magic |
12.02 |
fancy vivid blue |
|
10 |
Graff Blue |
6.19 |
fancy blue |
The Blue Empress diamond is a rare Type IIb diamond, a
group to which all naturally colored blue diamonds belong. Being Type II,
these diamonds are nitrogen-free. However, instead of nitrogen these
diamonds contain trace quantities of boron as impurity, which changes the
absorption spectrum of the diamond, causing the blue color. The occurrence
of blue diamonds however is much less than 0.1 % of all naturally occurring
diamonds.
The annual production of blue diamonds, in the Premier
diamond mines of South Africa, the world's main source of blue diamonds
today, would suffice to put the rarity of blue diamonds into proper
perspective. It is said that only one significant blue diamond is produced
in these mines every year out of all the rough production in the mines for
an year. If for instance a 20-carat blue diamond was produced in these mines
during a particular year, when the total annual production for the year was
10 million carats (conservative estimate), the percentage output of blue
diamonds becomes 0.0002 %. This is an astonishingly low percentage indeed !
History
The diamond being a new discovery do not have any history
associated with it, but has the potential to acquire it's own myths and
legends as it passes down lane of posterity.
The diamond without any doubt, must have originated in
the De Beers Premier diamond mines of Transvaal, South Africa, considering
the period it has made it's first appearance. The Steinmetz Group must have
purchased the diamond from De Beers, and this is confirmed by the news
report appearing in the Timesonline of November 22, 2003. Thus the diamond
must have been cut by the master cutters of the Steinmetz Group, a leading
company involved in all aspects of the diamond industry, with headquarters
in Geneva, Switzerland. The Steinmetz Group has an unblemished track record
as one of the leading diamond cutting companies in the world, and has earned
the distinction of cutting the world renowned Millennium Star diamond, the
only D-color diamond that is both internally and externally flawless. They
are also credited with cutting the 100.10 carat D-color internally flawless
"Star of the Season" diamond, that set a world record by fetching $ 16.5
million at a Sotheby's auction in 1995, which is the highest price paid for
a diamond at an auction.
According to the news report a spokesman of the Steinmetz
Company had claimed that the diamond had already attracted an offer of $ 9
million. The diamond has been set in a necklace made of 18k white gold
and is surrounded by several smaller round colorless diamonds. The
Blue Empress diamond is said to be the most expensive diamond ever offered
for sale in an European Shop. Harrods Department store, had placed a value
of £ 10million (approximately $ 17 million) for the diamond necklace. It was
widely reported around this time in November 2003, that the soccer
superstar David Beckham was about to buy the diamond necklace for his former
spice girl wife Victoria, for $ 17 million. It was said that the Real Madrid
ace wanted to buy the necklace built around the rare blue diamond "Blue
Empress," to match a $ 3.4 million diamond ring, he bought for his wife in
early November 2003. David was also reported to face stiff competition from
other buyers, who were also interested in the rare gem, and the bidding for
the diamond was expected to end on December 23, 2003.
It is not known whether the Blue Empress diamond was
disposed of as expected, by the Harrods Department Store, or whether soccer
superstar David Beckham was able to purchase the diamond necklace for his
beloved wife. More information on the diamond will be updated as soon as it
is available.
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