Origin of name
The Dresden Green diamond derives its name from Dresden,
the capital city of Saxony in Germany. Frederick Augustus II (1733-63), the
Duke and elector of Saxony (a prince with the right to participate in
choosing the Holy Roman Emperor), bought the diamond at the Leipzig Fair in
1741. This rare and beautiful natural green diamond has ever since remained
in Dresden, except for a period after World War II when the Russians
took the diamond to Moscow, with the other Crown Jewels, and later returned
it in 1958.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Dresden Green is the largest and finest natural green
diamond ever found, and has a pear-shaped cut, with a weight of 40.70
carats. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), that examined the stone
in 1988, has categorized this diamond as rare Type IIa diamond of
exceptional quality, and assigned a clarity grade of VS-1, with a potential
of reaching the maximum grade IF (internally flawless). In other words a
slight re-cutting of the stone could easily eliminate superficial
inclusions, upgrading the stone to IF clarity. The dimensions of the stone
are 29.75 x 19.88 x 10.29 mm. The symmetry and polish of the stone is graded
as very good, a tribute to the 18th century cutters of this diamond.
Another exceptional feature of the diamond is that the
green color is almost uniformly distributed throughout the diamond, instead
of being confined to the outer layers as a skin or restricted to certain
areas as patches.
Type IIa diamonds are not only nitrogen-free but also
free of any other impurities such as boron, hydrogen etc. In other
words they are chemically pure. But Type IIa diamonds can be of three
categories :-
1. Structurally perfect - The crystals are perfectly
formed, and the diamonds are absolutely colorless. They constitute 1-2 % of
all naturally occurring diamonds. D-color diamonds belong to this group.
2. Structurally imperfect - The crystals are plastically
deformed during their formation deep inside the earth's crust and subsequent
rise to the surface. They constitute less than 0.1 % of all diamonds. The
plastic deformation changes the absorption spectrum of the diamond producing
rare fancy colors such as red, pink, purple, brown etc.
3. Naturally irradiated - The crystals have been exposed
to natural irradiation for long periods of time, after their formation, deep
inside the earth's crust. The exposure alters the atomic structure of the
diamond, which changes it's absorption spectrum, causing a green color.
Their occurrence is much less than 0.1 % of natural diamonds. In our long
list of famous diamonds the only green diamonds are the Dresden Green, the
Ocean Dream diamond and the Gruosi Green diamond. This gives an indication
as to the rarity of green diamonds.
The depth and distribution of green color, in green
diamonds depends on the type of radiation to which the diamond was exposed
to. If the radiation was mainly alpha radiation emanating from naturally
radioactive uranium compounds, the green color will only be skin deep or
found in superficial patches. This green color may easily be removed during
the cutting and polishing processes. However if the radiation was beta or
gamma radiation, that could penetrate deeper into the crystal, the green
color will be formed to a greater depth, and sometimes the entire interior
of the stone will be colored green, as in the case of the Dresden Green. It
is important to note that natural green diamonds are not radioactive.
Early history
The Dresden Green is an early 18th century stone, and in
all probability originated in the Kollur mines, near Golconda, in Southern
India. The stone was purchased in India by the famous London diamond
merchant of early 18th century, Mr. Marcus Moses, who later met His Majesty
King George I (1714-27), by appointment, with a view of selling the diamond
to the King for a sum of £ 10,000. The King was very much pleased and
impressed by this large diamond of fine emerald-green color.
From all accounts it appears that the green diamond
Marcus Moses purchased in India, was already cut and polished, and in
all probability the diamond would have been cut at the famous diamond
cutting center in India at the time, Ahmedabad.
The earliest reports on the Dresden Green in Europe
provides some very interesting reading. A narrative that appeared on the
27th edition of the London news-sheet, the Post Boy, published on October
25th, 1722, runs as follows :- "On Tuesday last, in the afternoon, one Mr.
Marcus Moses, lately arrived from India, had the honor to wait on his
Majesty King George I, with his large diamond, which is of a fine emerald
green color, and was with his Majesty nearly an hour. His Majesty was very
much pleased with the sight thereof. It is said there never was seen the
like in Europe before, being free from any defect, and he has shown His
Majesty several other fine large diamonds, the like of which 'tis said were
never brought from India before. He was also, the 25th, to wait on their
Royal Highnesses with his large diamond, and they were surprised to see
one such largeness, and of such fine emerald color, without the help of a
foil under it. We hear the gentleman values it at £ 10,000."
A second reference to the Dresden Green diamond can be
seen in a letter written in 1726, by Baron Gautier, the assessor of the
Geheimes Rath's Collegium in Dresden, to the Polish Ambassador in London. In
this letter he says that the green diamond was offered to Duke Frederick
Augustus I (1694-1733), for a sum of £ 30,000, by a merchant from London.
Frederick Augustus I was a great connoisseur and
collector of arts, artifacts, jewels and other treasures. He started a
modernization program for the city, constructing several buildings in the
Baroque and Rocco styles, and he set up a "Green Vault" in Dresden Castle,
with interior decoration done by Persian designers, to house his vast
collection of sculptures, paintings, jewels and other treasures. The present
day Albertinium Museum, which houses the contents of the Green Vault, was
built on the same site as the original Dresden Castle, which was destroyed
by the allied bombings of world war II.
In spite of Marcus Moses' efforts to sell the diamond to
either King George I or Duke Frederick Augustus I, none of them purchased
it, even though they had inspected and expressed interest in the stone.
Marcus Moses eventually sold the stone to a Dutch merchant named Delles, who
in turn sold it to Duke Frederick Augustus II (1733 -1763), the son of
Frederick Augustus I, at the Leipzig Fair in 1741. The actual purchase price
of the diamond is revealed in a letter to Frederick the Great, King of
Prussia (1712- 1786). The letter states that "for the siege of Brunn, the
King of Poland (also Duke of Saxony, Frederick Augustus II), was asked for
heavy artillery. He refused, due to the scarcity of money; he had just spent
400,000 thaler for a large green diamond."
Frederick Augustus II, assigned his court jeweler,
Dinglinger, to incorporate his newly acquired green diamond in the
decoration of the Golden Fleece, a setting that lasted only four years, and
was dismantled in 1746. The Duke then decided to make a new Golden Fleece,
incorporating two famous diamonds, the Dresden Green (40.70 carats) and the
Dresden White, a cushion shaped diamond, weighing 49.71 carats. The
goldsmith Pallard from Vienna was entrusted with this task.
The seven years war was the last major conflict before
the French Revolution to involve all the great powers of Europe. France,
Russia, Austria, Sweden, and Saxony were aligned on one side against
Prussia, Great Britain, and Hanover on the other. The war lasted from 1756
to 1763, and arose as a result of the Austrian Hapsburgs attempt to
win back the rich province of Silesia, which had been captured by Frederick
II, the Great of Prussia, during the war of Austrian Succession.(1740-48).
During this period of prolonged hostilities, the valuable treasurers of the
Green Vault were transferred to the safety of the fortress of Konigstein,
situated by the Elba River in Southeast Dresden. Several years after the end
of this war, in which Saxony was defeated by Prussia, the Pallards Golden
Fleece ornament was also broken up. In 1768, another jeweler Diessbach, set
the Dresden Green diamond on a hat clasp and this ornament has survived up
to this day.
Modern history
In 1806, Napoleon conquered Saxony and made it a Kingdom.
This Kingdom lasted until 1918, when Saxony's monarchy was abolished after
Germany's defeat in world war I, and a republican constitution was adopted.
Dresden the capital of Saxony was called the "Florence on
the Elba," before world war II, and was considered as one of the world's
most beautiful cities, owing to it's architecture and art treasurers. The
Green Vault was open to the public until the beginning of world war II. In
1942, the invaluable treasurers in the Green Vault were again transferred to
the Fortress of Koningstein for safe keeping. During the war, Dresden was
almost completely destroyed by the massive bombing raids that took place on
the night of February 13-14, 1945, in which 800 aircraft of an
Anglo-American force took part. The bombardment of the city continued up to
April 17th. The raids succeeded in obliterating the greater part of one of
the most beautiful cities in Europe, killing between 35,000 and 135,000
people, but achieved little militarily.
The valued treasures of the Green Vault escaped the
shattering air raid by the allied forces. The Soviet Trophies Commission,
which was in the city at that time, took the contents of the Green Vault to
Moscow, including the Crown Jewels. The treasures were returned safely in
1958.
In October 2000, the Dresden green was taken to
Washington, where it was displayed in the Harry Winston Gallery at the
Smithsonian Institution, alongside an equally famous and historical diamond,
the Hope, a natural deep blue diamond also from the Kollur mines. The
diamond was displayed at the Smithsonan Institution until Januaary 2001.
Subsequently the stone was returned to the Albertinium Museum in Dresden
it's permanent home.
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