Origin of name
The Centenary diamond gets its name from the centenary
of the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. celebrated on March 11, 1988. The
Centenary rough diamond was actually discovered on July 17, 1986, at the
Premier diamond mines, but all those involved in the discovery were sworn to
silence. The closely guarded secret of the De Beers Mining Company was
unveiled to the world only on March 11, 1988, at a special banquet held to
mark the centenary, by the Chairman Mr. Julian Oglivie Thompson, who
christened the stone the "Centenary Diamond".
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Centenary diamond is a 273.85-carat, D-color diamond
with a modified heart-shape. The unique feature of the stone is it's
exceptional clarity, and the stone has been graded as internally flawless
(IF). The dimensions of the diamond are 50.50 x 39.90 x 24.55
mm. The stone has a total of 247 facets, 164 on the crown and the pavilion,
and 83 around the girdle. The Centenary diamond is said to be the largest,
faceted, D-color, flawless diamond in the world. It is also the 3rd largest,
faceted, D-color diamond in the world, and overall the 5th largest faceted
diamond in the world. See table below and the rank order list of famous
diamonds on a different web page.
List of famous D-color
diamonds over 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
|
1 |
Cullinan I |
530.20 |
pear |
|
2 |
CullinanII |
317.40 |
cushion |
|
3 |
Centenary |
273.85 |
modified heart |
|
4 |
Jubilee |
245.35 |
cushion |
|
5 |
Millennium Star |
203.04 |
pear |
|
6 |
La Luna |
200.07 |
heart |
|
7 |
Orlov |
189.62 |
rose |
|
8 |
Jacob-Victoria |
184.50 |
oval |
|
9 |
Regent |
140.64 |
cushion |
|
10 |
Paragon |
137.82 |
7-sided |
|
11 |
Premier Rose |
137.02 |
pear |
|
12 |
Queen of Holland |
135.92 |
cushion |
|
13 |
Zale Light of Peace |
130.27 |
Pear |
|
14 |
Niarchos |
128.25 |
Pear |
|
15 |
Portuguese |
127.02 |
asscher |
|
16 |
Jonker |
125.35 |
emerald |
|
17 |
Al-Nader |
115.83 |
pear |
|
18 |
Taj-i-Mah |
115.06 |
moghul |
|
19 |
Edna Star |
115.00 |
emerald |
|
20 |
Koh-i-Nur |
108.93 |
oval |
|
21 |
Mouawad Magic |
108.81 |
emerald |
|
22 |
Cartier |
107.07 |
pear |
|
23 |
Star of Egypt |
105.51 |
emerald |
|
24 |
Mouawad Splendor |
101.84 |
pear |
|
25 |
Star of America |
100.57 |
asscher |
|
26 |
Star of Happiness |
100.36 |
radiant |
|
27 |
Star of the Season |
100.10 |
pea |
The Centenary diamond, being a D-color diamond is a Type
IIa diamond, free of nitrogen and all other chemical impurities. They are
also structurally perfect diamonds, without any plastic distortions. Thus
factors that usually cause color in diamonds are absent, and therefore these
diamonds are absolutely colorless. The diamonds are said to be chemically
pure and structurally prefect. However, they constitute only about 1-2 % of
all naturally occurring diamonds.
History
Diamonds were first discovered in Southern Africa in the
mid-1860s on the farm belonging to Nicolas and Diederick de Beer, near what
is now the city of Kimberly. Two diamond mines known as the Kimberley and
the De Beers were opened on this farm, and eventually became the world's
most productive diamond mines. The actual mining took place at a hill in the
farm called Colesberg Kopple, where the miners dug intensively, along the
course of a diamond bearing pipe (now known as Kimberlites). The Kimberley
mine was named after the first Earl of Kimberley, who was then the British
Colonial Secretary. The town of Kimberley was erected in 1878, and
incorporated into the Cape Colony in 1880.
In 1871, the English entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes invested
and obtained a claim in the De Beers mines. With the expansion of his
investment Rhodes was eventually able to purchase most of the diamond mines
in South Africa. In 1888, Rhodes incorporated De Beers Consolidated Mines
Ltd. By mid 1890s, Rhodes had established the Diamond Syndicate with a view
of controlling the word diamond distribution, in order to keep prices high
and demand steady. The Diamond Syndicate was the forerunner of today's
Central Selling Organization, that controls much of the world's trade in
diamonds.
In 1917, Ernest Oppenheimer founded the Anglo-American
Corporation, which took control of the diamond mines in South-West Africa
(Namibia), and created a new diamond syndicate. In 1926, Oppenheimer bought
a seat on the De Beers board and became it's Chairman 3-years later. Since
then De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. has been closely associated with the
Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, in exploring the diamond mines
of Southern Africa and Namibia, and controlling the world diamond trade.
Another important diamond mine, that was discovered in
South Africa in 1902 by Sir Thomas Cullinan, was the Premier mine, situated
in Transvaal, South Africa. It was in this mine the world's largest diamond
weighing 3,106 carats in the rough state, was discovered in 1905, and was
appropriately named the Cullinan Diamond. This massive colorless diamond was
purchased by the Transvaal Government, and presented in 1907 to the reigning
British Monarch, King Edward VII. Since then the Premier diamond mines has
produced some outstanding diamonds such as the Niarchos in 1954, the
Taylor-Burton in 1966, and the Premier Rose in 1978.
The ownership of the Premier mines was subsequently
acquired by the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. and under it's
management became one of the most productive mines in the world. The Premier
mine is also the source of several high quality colored diamonds, including
the very rare blue diamonds. The eleven exceptional quality blue diamonds
that constituted the De Beers Company's limited edition Millennium Diamonds
Collection, that was exhibited at the Millennium Dome, throughout the year
2000 were all sourced from the Premier diamond mines.
On July 17, 1986, another important discovery was made at
the Premier diamond mines, using their latest electric X-ray imaging system.
This was the discovery of the 599-carat, top color, rough diamond, which
eventually came to be known as the Centenary diamond. The discovery was kept
a secret, and only a handful of people knew about it, and all were sworn to
silence.
In it's rough form the Centenary diamond resembled an
irregular match box with angular planes, a prominent horn like structure
jutting out at one corner and a deep concave on the largest flat surface.
Thus the shape of the stone itself presented some serious problems to any
experienced cutter who would attempt to cut it.
On March 11, 1988, the closely guarded secret of De Beers
Mining Company, since July 17, 1986, was revealed to the entire world, at
the Centenary Celebrations of the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd, held at
Kimberley. As a part of the centennial celebrations a banquet was held in
which about 400 invited guests, including representatives of National
Governments of diamond-producing countries and dignitaries from various
sections of the industry, took part. In concluding his welcome speech the
chairman of De Beers Consolidate Mines Ltd. Mr. Julian Oglivie Thompson
declared "We have recovered at the Premier Mine a diamond of 599 carats,
which is perfect in color - indeed it is one of the largest top-color
diamonds ever found. Naturally it will be called the "Centenary Diamond."
Not only was this an appropriate moment to reveal the long kept secret of
the Company, but the name chosen for the new discovery was also the most
appropriate.
The next important step was the difficult task of cutting
the rough centenary diamond to produce either a single faceted diamond or
several smaller diamonds, keeping in mind the three cardinal principles of
diamond cutting, viz. maximizing for brilliance, maximizing for color, and
maximizing for yield. This required the skill and expertise of experienced
and accomplished cutters in the diamond industry. The De Beers mining
company commissioned a team of experts and world renowned master cutters,
headed by Mick Harris, to evaluate the rough Centenary, and to recommend the
most appropriate techniques and designs, to be adopted, and to undertake the
actual cutting of the stone. The team also included Gabi Tolkowsky a world
renowned diamond cuter, hailing from a family of diamond cutters, with five
new diamond cuts to his credit. Others in the team included Geoff Woolett,
Jim Nash, and Dawie du Pleiss, all accomplished diamond cutters.
After a careful and extensive examination of the rough
centenary using the most sophisticated electronic and other equipment at
their disposal, the team recommended that the Centenary be kept in tact
to produce one single large modern-cut diamond. But, before the actual shape
and design of the stone could be recommended, the team decided to eliminate
the protruding horn, the large cracks at the edge of the stone, and other
superficial flaws.
A hand picked team of engineers, electricians, and
security guards were also co-opted by the company to assist in this project.
A specially designed underground room in the De Beers Diamond Research
Laboratory in Johannesburg, was set up, with the sole purpose of working on
the Centenary diamond. Design specifications for this room included the
strength and stability of the materials used, in order to prevent mechanical
vibrations and temperature variations, thereby minimizing any mitigating
factor that might interfere with the cutting of the Centenary diamond.
With everything in place, the team set about, with the
difficult task of cutting the stone. The team decided not to use laser or
saw for the initial steps of the cutting, to remove cracked material and
other superficial defects. This was done to prevent the heating and
vibrating of the diamond. Instead they adopted the traditional method of
kerfing by hand, a process that is slow and time consuming. It took the team
154 days, to cut and remove 50 carats of cracked material. After this was
completed they were left with a roughly egg-shaped stone weighing about 520
carats.
Having successfully accomplished the initial steps in the
cutting process, the team embarked on the difficult task of taking accurate
measurements , and drawing appropriate designs, that may possibly suit the
egg-shaped stone. The team finally presented 13 different designs to the De
beers board, with a strong recommendation in respect of one design, viz. the
modified heart-shape. The Board accepted the modified heart-shape as it's
choice, and then the final process of faceting the Centenary began in March
1990. The faceting was finally completed after nearly 10 months of
painstaking work in February 1991.
After the completion of the cutting, the centenary
diamond had a weight of 273.85 carats. The diamond with the modified
heart-shape had 247 facets, 164 on the crown and pavilion and 83 around it's
girdle. The GIA color grading for the diamond is D-color, which is the
highest grade for colorless diamonds, and the clarity is internally flawless
(IF). In addition to the Centenary, two other flawless, pear-shaped smaller
diamonds, weighing 1.47 and 1.41 carats were also cut from the rough.
While the Centenary diamond has never been appraised for
it's value, it is known to have been insured for around $ 100 million, at
the time of it's unveiling in May 1991. The stone was later loaned to the
Tower of London, where it was displayed for a number of years.
Whether De Beers still owns the Centenary, or whether the
stone has been disposed of is still a mystery. Gabi Tolkowsky has said that
he believes that the gem has been sold, but De beers declines any comment,
citing it's policy of anonymity.
Gabi Tolkowsky was also involved in the cutting of the
755-carat Golden Jubilee rough diamond, the large yellow brown diamond, also
discovered in the Premier diamond mines in 1985, just one year before the
discovery of the Centenary diamond. In fact it has been said that the Golden
Jubilee rough was used by the De Beers Company, to test a series of modern
tools and equipment developed by the company for the processing of larger
diamonds. Not only did the tested equipment pass all the stringent
conditions of the test, but the enormous rough diamond also metamorphosed
into a beautiful, 545.67-carat, yellow brown, cushion-cut brilliant, taking
the unique position held by the 530.20-carat Cullinan I diamond, as the
largest faceted diamond in the world, a position which it held for over 80
years. After the success of the cutting of the Golden Jubilee, Gabi
Tolkowsky and his team embarked on the more challenging task of cutting the
Centenary diamond.
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