Origin of name
The Conde Pink Diamond also known as the Conde Diamond or
Le Grand Conde gets its name from Louis II de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde,
and the Commander of the French Army, who was presented the diamond as a
token of appreciation by King Louis XIII of France in 1643, for the several
successful military victories that were achieved on his behalf.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Conde Pink diamond is a light pink, pear-shaped
diamond weighing 9.01 carats.
The diamond is most probably a Type IIa diamond, which
are nitrogen free, and free of all chemical impurities. However, the pink
color is caused by the structural distortion of the crystals, due to the
twisting and bending of the tetrahedral crystal units as the diamonds rose
up from the earth's mantel to the surface. The distorted areas in the
crystal changes the absorption spectrum of the diamond, causing the pink
color. Thus the Conde Pink diamond is a plastically deformed Type IIa
diamond.
In the list of famous pink diamonds, the Conde Pink
occupies the last position, being only 9.01 carats in weight, but in terms
of historical significance the diamond surpasses most other pink diamonds,
as it has a history dating back to the mid-17th century.
List of famous pink
diamonds
|
S/No |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Color |
|
1 |
Darya-i-Nur |
186 |
light pink |
|
2 |
Nur-ul-Ain |
60 |
light pink |
|
3 |
Steinmetz pink |
59.60 |
fancy vivid pink |
|
4 |
Shah Jahaan |
56.71 |
light pink |
|
5 |
Agra |
32.34 |
fancy light pink |
|
6 |
Pink Sunrise |
29.79 |
fancy pink |
|
7 |
Rose of Dubai |
25.02 |
fancy pink |
|
8 |
Mouawad Lilac |
24.44 |
fancy purplish pink |
|
9 |
Williamson Pink |
23.56 |
fancy pink |
|
10 |
Graff Pink Orchid |
22.84 |
fancy purplish pink |
|
11 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
fancy pink |
|
12 |
Hortensia |
20.00 |
light orange pink |
|
13 |
Graff Pink Supreme |
10.83 |
fancy pink |
|
14 |
Conde Pink |
9.01 |
light pink |
History
The Conde Pink diamond being a mid-17th century diamond,
most probably originated in the famous Kollur mines, near Golconda, in
Andhra Pradesh in Southern India, the only source of pink diamonds in the
world during this period. The Darya-i-Nur, the Nur-ul-Ain, Shah Jahaan and
Agra are the other famous pink diamonds that are believed to have originated
in the same mines.
The diamond most probably entered the French court,
through Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the famous traveler and diamond dealer, who
had dealings with King Louis XIV and probably with his predecessor King
Louis XIII.
The Conde Pink diamond, also known as the Conde diamond
or the Grand Conde diamond (Le Grande Conde), was purported to have been
presented to Louis II de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde, and the the Commander
of the French Army, as a token of appreciation for several successive
military victories associated with the 30-year war. But, the chronology of
events during this period do not seem to support this contention, but
instead favors King Louis XIV, the successor of King Louis XIII as the
French Monarch who made this gesture of appreciation.
Louis II de Bourbon, the Great Conde previously known as
Duc d' Enghien was born in 8th September 1621 in Paris, to parents who
descended from the House of Bourbon. He was the eldest son of Henry II de
Bourbon. the 3rd Prince of Conde. Having completed his education at the age
of 15 years, studying under the Jesuit priests for six years, and later
studying mathematics and horsemanship at the Royal Academy at Paris, he was
presented to King Louis XIII, by his father, in January 1636. He later
joined the army and had his first experience of combat in July 1640. As head
of the Royal Army, Louis II de Bourbon won his first great victory over the
Spaniards at Rocroi on May 19, 1643. This was the greatest French victory
for a century, and without any doubt due mainly to his capabilities as a
great commander. King Louis XIII, did not live to see the great victory of
Louis II de Bourbon, as he died of tuberculosis just 5 days before the great
victory on May 14, 1643. Therefore the above version of King Louis XIII
presenting the Conde pink diamond to Louis II de Bourbon, the Prince of
Conde, for his great victories does not hold any ground. In fact most of the
greatest victories achieved by the great Conde, came after the death of King
Louis XIII.
The victory at Rocroi was followed by other successes, in
the area of the Rhine, at Thionville and Sierck, at Freiburg, Philippsburg,
Mainz, and Nordlingen. He also conducted a brilliant campaign in Flanders.
King Louis XIII was succeeded by his son Louis XIV, who
was barely 5 years old at the time. The Queen mother acted as Regent until
the King came of age. Louis XIV was just 9 years old, when the nobles and
the parliament rose against the Crown in 1648, due to the unpopularity of
the Prime Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin. During the period of
instability, that was associated with the long civil war that followed,
known as the Fronde, Conde was imprisoned by Jules Mazarin and released
after 13 months by his friends who launched the second war of the Fronde,
which led to Mazarin's voluntary exile. Conde eventually defected to the
enemies, the Spaniards, who appointed him as Generalissimo. He conducted
several campaigns against the French army for 4 years, but was finally
defeated at the Battle of Dunes on June 14, 1658. Conde returned to Paris,
after the Peace of the Pyrennes was signed in 1659, and was received by King
Louis XIV, on January 27, 1660. Since then he became a loyal and humble
subject of the King.
Eventually in 1668, Conde was again appointed the
Commander of the Army, that attacked the Spanish-held Franche-Comte, and
Conde took Artois, Besancon, Dole, and Gray in 15 days. His brilliant
military successes continued until 1675. Most of the military successes
achieved by King Louis XIV, between 1660 and 1675, could be attributed to
the Great Conde's successes as a brilliant military commander. Thus in all
probability it was King Louis XIV, who presented the Conde Pink diamond to
the Grand Conde.
Louis II de Bourbon, the Great Conde, had the diamond
mounted on the pommel of his walking stick. The diamond remained the
property of the Conde family until 1892, when Duc d' Aumale bequeathed it to
the French Government. Today it is on display in the Musee de Conde in
Chantilly, in France, where it will continue to remain according to the
Duke's will. The diamond was stolen from the museum on October 11th, 1926,
but later recovered and restored. However, as a security precaution, the
diamond that is on display now, is not the original diamond, but only a
perfect replica of the original.
Please submit
your contributions ,comments and questions (See below)
-When you submit a question/comment we will build a
page exclusively for you. You can add more contributions, or let visitors
add comments and ratings
-The idea is Ask one or Answer one!
This way, you save yourself and others the trouble of asking the same
questions on famous diamonds, famous gemstones etc. or become my co-expert on this subject by
rating and submitting comments. I'd appreciate a
little help here! Absolutely!!!
