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.
The Briolette of India set in a necklace.
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.
Harry Winston examining the Briolette of India Diamond
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.
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