Origin of name
The name Briolette of India seems to emphasize both the
unique shape of the diamond, the briolette, a form of rose-cut, which was a
popular shape/cut for diamonds in the past, as well as the country of origin
of the diamond.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Briolette of India is a D-color (colorless) diamond
weighing 90.38 carats and cut in the form of a briolette, also known as a
double-rose cut. The clarity of the stone is unknown, but perhaps,
exceptional if the ancient Indian origins of the stone is accepted.
If the diamond is D-color, it must be a Type IIa diamond,
which are known as the "purest of the pure" of all diamonds. Type IIa
diamonds are chemically pure and structurally perfect diamonds. Thus two
factors that commonly cause color in diamonds are absent in Type IIa
diamonds. They are, absence of chemical impurities, such as nitrogen, boron
and hydrogen, and absence of any plastic deformations in the crystal.
However, Type IIa diamonds constitute only about 1-2 % of all naturally
occurring diamonds.
Early history
The "Briolette of India" is a historical diamond, and
perhaps the oldest diamond on record in the world, even older than the
famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. The stone dates back to the time of the crusades
between 1122 and 1200. The recorded history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond begins
only after the year 1295, according to the "Baburnama" (memoirs of Babur)
written by Emperor Babur himself, the first of the great Mogul
Emperors of India.
The diamond was first reported to have been acquired by
Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Queen consort of King Louis VII of France,
probably between 1137, the year of her father's death and marriage to Louis,
the heir to the French throne, and 1152, the year King Louis VII divorced
her for misconduct. Eleanor was the daughter of William X, the duke of
Aquitaine, whose domain was larger than that of the French King himself.
Eleanor inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine after her father's death in 1137,
and in July 1137 married Louis, the heir to the French throne, who succeeded
his father Louis VI, in August 1137, as King of France. Eleanor accompanied
her husband Louis, on the second crusade, between 1147 to 1149, to protect
the Kingdom of Jerusalem, from Turkish assault. After the annulment of their
marriage in 1152, Eleanor regained back her possession of Aquitaine, and two
months later married Henry Plantagenet, the Duke of Normandy, who was the
grandson of Henry I of England. In 1154, Henry Plantagenet succeeded his
grandfather, as King Henry II of England, and Eleanor became the Queen of
England. To King Henry II, Eleanor bore five sons and three daughters.
When Henry II died in 1189, he was succeeded by his third
son Richard, who later came to be known as Richard the Lion Heart. King
Richard I is said to have carried with him the Briolette of India,
when he took part in the third crusade that lasted from 1189 to 1192.
After Richard I, the diamond disappeared for over three
centuries, and re-appeared again only in the late 16th century, during the
reign of King Henry II of France (1547-59), whose Queen consort was
Catherine de Medicis. Henry had a mistress by the name of Diana de Poitiers,
to whom he was closely attached. Henry presented the Briolette of India to
Diana de Poitiers, and it can be seen in one of many portraits of her while
at Fontainbleau, a palace of the French kings in northern France, which was
previously a royal hunting lodge. After Henry IIs death in 1559, Diana de
Poitiers was forced by Catherine de Medicis to surrender those crown jewels
that Henry had given her, and this may have included the Briolette of India.
In spite of Henry's abiding attachment to his mistress, Catherine's marriage
was not unsuccessful, and she bore him 10 children, of whom 4 boys and 3
girls survived. Three of her sons eventually became kings of France -
Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III.
Modern history
The stone again disappeared for four centuries, and
re-appeared only in 1950. This time the stone was acquired by Harry Winston,
the New York jeweler, who purchased it from an Indian Maharajah. Harry
Winston sold it to Mrs. I. W. Killam, but bought it back when she died
10 years later. In the year 1970, Mr. Harry Winston exhibited the stone at the
diamond dinner organized for American fashion editors. According to
Christie's website the Briolette of India was bought and sold by Harry
Winston three times between 1946 and 1971. It is currently believed to be in
the collection of a titled European family.
The resurgence of the
briolette
The briolette is an 800-year old cut whose popularity has
waxed and waned during this long period. Briolettes became very popular in
France in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in other countries, in the late
19th and early 20th centuries, and was used in pendants, earrings, and
necklaces. In America briolettes were quite popular in the 1930s. The world
renowned Smithsonian Gem and Mineral collection includes a 275-carat diamond
briolette necklace presented by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1811 to his Empress
consort Marie Louise, to celebrate the birth of their son, the future King
of Rome. Briolettes are found in the crown jewels of many royal families,
such as the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria, the Romanovs of Russia, and the
royal and Napoleonic houses of France.
The term briolette is derived from the French word
"brio", meaning spirit or vivacity, a quality amply possessed by this
historic cut. Briolette and pendeloque are shapes given to diamonds and
other gemstones by employing the drop-cut, which is a method of faceting
gemstones into a pear-shape, suitable for pendants, earrings, and other
jewelry. A pendeloque is a pear-shaped modification of the round
brilliant-cut used for diamonds. A briolette is an elongated pear-shaped
stone, covered with bands of triangular or rectangular facets, usually with
a pointed end, and round at the other end, and without a girdle. The
Gemological Institute of America defines the briolette as a pear or
drop-shaped gemstone having it's entire surface covered with small
triangular facets. The briolette is considered as a modified double-rose
cut, with a pointed tip and a rounded bottom, and several rows of facets in
between.
The unique feature of the briolette is, that the beauty
of the stone can be appreciated from all sides, at any angle, and not
restricted to a table as in the conventional diamond, cut with a table,
crown and pavilion. The conventional diamond is expected to be viewed only
through the table, and the brilliance of the stone depends on the amount of
incident light returning to the eye after entering the diamond. If the
pavilion of the diamond has a angle close to 90˚ at the
vertex (culet), the diamond is said to be well cut, as all light entering
the diamond through the table will be totally and internally reflected twice
at the inner surface of the pavilion, and will leave the diamond again
through the table. If the angle of the pavilion, at the vertex is an obtuse
angle, greater than 90˚, the diamond is said to have a shallow cut pavilion,
and some light will be refracted through the pavilion, reducing the
brilliance. Likewise if the angle at the vertex is an acute angle, less than
90˚, the diamond is said to have a deep cut pavilion, which also results in
the loss of light by refraction through the pavilion, and a consequent loss
of brilliance. In the case of the briolette, light can enter through the
triangular or rectangular facets from any side of the diamond, and most of
this light is refracted and emerges through the opposite side. If at all
there will be a return of light rays after entering the stone, through the
same facet, it will only be very slight. Thus the briolette cannot have the
same brilliance as a conventional cut stone.
Briolettes are more suitable for
pendants and earrings, because they dangle and catch the light. The stone is
totally free of any setting except at the top, allowing one to see more of
the gem than with other cuts. Therefore stones with defects and inclusions
may not be suitable for briolettes.
The briolette that saw a resurgence
during the Victorian age but later died down, is again having a dramatic
revival in the gem industry, not so much for diamonds but for precious and
semi-precious stones. Briolette pendants and earrings made of gemstones like
tourmalines, sapphires, amethysts, aquamarines, etc. are becoming increasing
popular, and a cheaper version of the costly ultrasonic drill has been
developed to make accurate holes of small diameter at the pointed end of the
briolette. Virtually any gemstone material can be used for briolettes.
Sale of a
second Briolette of India by Christie's
A second Briolette of India, weighing 75.51 carats was
offered for sale at an auction at Christie's Geneva, held on May 15th, 2002.
This diamond was also a D-color diamond of exceptional quality, with an
internally flawless (IF) clarity grade and believed to have originated in
the Golconda mines of Southern India. The diamond was expected to fetch $ 6
to $ 7 million at the sale, i. e. $ 93,000 per carat. The GIA had stated
that this briolette was the largest, D-color, internally flawless, diamond
briolette to have passed through their laboratory. The purchaser of this
briolette is not known.
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