Origin of name
The original owners of the "Deepdene Diamond," Mr. & Mrs.
Cary W. Bok of Pennsylvania State, U.S.A. owned an estate in Pennsylvania
known as the Deepdene Estate, from which the diamond derives its name.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Deepdene diamond is a 104.52 carat, fancy vivid
yellow, cushion-cut diamond with a clarity grade of VVS-1 (very very
slightly included).
Being identified as an artificially irradiated diamond,
the Deepdene that was discovered in the Premier Mines of Transvaal, South
Africa, probably would have been initially a Type Ia diamond, with a pale to
medium yellow color, and the nitrogen atoms associated as groups. However,
when the diamond was subjected to radiation treatment probably by neutron
bombardment, some of the groups of nitrogen atoms were scattered as single
atoms, which imparted the intense yellow color to the diamond, thus
converting it to a Type Ib diamond. Thus the Deepdene is a
nitrogen-containing color enhanced diamond.
History
The Deepdene diamond has acquired the infamous title of
being the largest irradiated diamond in the world, and has achieved the
status of an "outcast" in the world of famous diamonds, to the extent that
even it's current whereabouts remain uncertain.
Nevertheless, the story of the Deepdene is so
fascinating, that it is still worthwhile repeating it, for the sake of all
lovers of diamonds and connoisseurs around the world.
The Deepdene was a diamond mined in the Premier Mines of
Transvaal, South Africa, belonging to De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. Mr. &
Mrs. Cary W. Bok of Pennsylvania State, U.S.A. who owned the diamond, named
it after their estate in Pennsylvania known as the Deepdene Estate. The
original weight of the Deepdene was 104.88 carats and the stone was mounted
on a diamond clip.
The Boks disposed of the Deepdene in 1954, and was
purchased by Mr. Harry Winston. The diamond eventually found it's way to a
firm in London in 1960, and was finally acquired by it's German owner.
The German owner of the diamond put up the Deepdene for
sale on May 27th, 1971, at a Christie's auction, held in Geneva. Christie's
auction house advertised the gem as a 104.52 carat, fancy golden-yellow
diamond. The Clarity of the stone was given as VVS-1, which is only slightly
less than the internally flawless clarity grade. The VVS-1 grading was
probably due to two very small imperfections near the girdle of the stone.
The color grading of the diamond was fancy vivid yellow, which is the
highest grading for any color. The super grade color of the diamond was
guaranteed natural by both the Gemological Institute of Germany and the
University of Mainz, in Germany.
However, Dr. Edward Gubelin, a renowned scientist and
gemologist from Geneva, who had a keen eye and a wealth of experience in
examining gems, and was quite adept at recognizing artificially colored
diamonds, had the opportunity to inspect the diamond before the auction took
place. To his utter dismay, Dr. Edward Gubelin, discovered that the Deepdene
had been irradiated, most probably by neutron bombardment. Dr Gubelin
immediately warned Christie's and any buyer who was prepared to listen to
him, about the dubious nature of the stone, but Christie's allowed the sale
to continue, with the recommendation that the prospective buyer examines the
diamond at a different laboratory.
The jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels purchased the
diamond for a sum of £190,000 at the
auction. The company decided to send the Deepdene to a renowned gem testing
laboratory in London, in the United Kingdom. The director of the lab, a
pioneer gemologist, Basil Anderson, was assigned the task of verifying the
credentials of the Deepdene. Dr. Anderson subjected the diamond to spectral
analysis, and the results confirmed the initial findings of Dr. Edward
Gubelin.
Van Cleef & Arpels lost no time in returning the
irradiated diamond for a refund, and so ends the story of the Deepdene,
which became an unwanted orphan in the world of famous diamonds. But, at
what point the diamond was irradiated after it left the custody of the Bok's,
remains a mystery to this day. The present whereabouts of the Deepdene is
unknown.
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