Origin of name
The Blue Lili diamond gets its name from the wife of William Goldberg, the former President of the renowned William Goldberg Diamond Corporation of New York City, a company founded in 1973, that specializes in the cutting, polishing and sales of high-end large diamonds, fancy colored diamonds, and diamond jewelry.
Characteristics of the diamond
The Blue Lili diamond is a cushion-cut blue diamond of unknown color and clarity grade, weighing 30.06 carats.
The Blue Lili diamond occupies the 6th position in the list of 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 Blue Lili |
30.06 |
unknown color grade |
| 7 |
The Heart of Eternity |
27.64 |
fancy vivid blue |
| 8 |
Transvaal Blue |
25.00 |
unknown color grade |
| 9 |
The Blue Empress |
14.00 |
unknown color grade |
| 10 |
The Blue Magic |
12.02 |
fancy vivid blue |
| 11 |
Graff Blue |
6.19 |
fancy blue |
As all other naturally colored blue diamonds, the Blue Lili diamond is also a Type IIb diamond, in which the blue color is caused by the presence of trace quantities of boron in the crystal structure of the diamond. These diamonds are nitrogen-free and therefore categorized as Type II, as opposed to Type I diamonds that contain nitrogen impurities. It is important to note that both boron and nitrogen have atomic sizes comparable to that of carbon, the element that constitutes the diamond crystal, and as such can be easily accommodated in the crystal structure. The presence of boron atoms in the crystal changes the absorption spectrum of the diamond producing the blue color.
History
Nothing is known about the early history of the diamond, such as the country and mine of origin, the date of discovery, the weight of the rough stone, etc. But, considering the color and size of the finished stone, undoubtedly it must have originated in the Premier diamond mines of South Africa, the only source of blue diamonds of significant size in the world today. The diamond must have been purchased from De Beers by William Goldberg Diamond Corporation. The master cutters of the Goldberg Corporation had cut and polished the stone into the cushion-cut blue diamond of 30.06 carats, which was subsequently named the Blue Lili diamond.
Diamantaire William Goldberg
William Goldberg started life as a diamond cutter, working for Harry Winston Inc. New York, where he mastered the finer aspects of the diamond cutting and polishing processes. The foundations of a life long association with the diamond industry was laid here. Goldberg had other interests besides diamond cutting. One such area that drew his attention was merchandizing, and in 1952 he went into partnership with Irving Weiss to start the company Goldberg & Weiss. This company flourished in the 1950s and the 1960s, but in 1973, Goldberg decided to start his own business venture and formed the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation, and became a De Beers sightholder.
The company grew from strength to strength under his guidance and leadership, and became a well known and prestigious diamond company in the competitive diamond trade and industry. The company became well known for processing and selling high-end large diamonds, fancy colored diamonds, and diamond jewelry. It is said that some of the world's most notable diamonds passed through his hands, such as the 137.02-carat. D-color, internally flawless, pear-shaped, Premier Rose diamond, the 89-carat, D-color, internally flawless, Guinea Star diamond, and the 5.11-carat, fancy red, internally flawless, trilliant-cut, Red Shield diamond, which subsequently came to be known as the Moussaieff Red diamond, the largest red diamond in the world.
The cutters at William Goldberg Diamond Corporation were always guided by his well known maxim, "never maximize the weight of a stone at the expense of beauty." The well known example is the ruby-red, trilliant-cut, Moussaieff Red diamond processed by his corporation, which surpasses most fancy colored diamonds for it's sheer beauty. The company is also recognized by the world diamond community by it's famous slogan "The magic is in the make."
William Goldberg is also credited with recreating an ancient Indian diamond cut known as the Ashoka-cut, based on the classical cut found on the famous and historic D-color, internally flawless, 41.73 carat "Ashoka Diamond." The Diamond renowned for it's unique cut was mined in the historic diamond mines on the eastern Deccan Plateau of Southern India, and gets it's name from Ashoka Maurya, the warrior-emperor of India of the 3rd century B.C. who subsequently renounced violence and adopted Buddhism as the guiding philosophy of his rule. The Ashoka diamonds were later incorporated in a new series of watches by Chopard, known as Chopard Ashoka watches.
William Goldberg made an immense contribution to the diamond industry, by setting the highest standards in his chosen field, worthy of emulation by all associated with the industry. He also motivated people to attain greater heights in their business. As President of the New York Diamond Dealers Club, between 1978 and 1984, he is credited for supporting women in the diamond industry, opening up the Dealers Club to the media, and making 47th Street a cleaner and safer business area. He is also well known as a philanthropist supporting many worthy causes. He had also supported the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which has become an international benchmark in the world of precious stones and offers the best possible training in the field of gemology. After his death in October 2003, the Goldberg family had made a significant contribution to the GIA, in his memory, in support of student scholarships, and the students lounge at the GIA's New York educational facility has been named after William Goldberg.
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