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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