Origin of name
The Eureka diamond was the first ever diamond to be
discovered in South Africa, which changed the course of history of South
Africa forever, and as such has immense historical significance. The name of
the diamond seems to have been inspired by this significant event in the
history of the diamond industry of South Africa. Eureka! Eureka!! meaning I
have found it! I have found it! was the Greek expression purported to have
been used by the famous mathematician and inventor Archimedes, running
naked along the streets of Syracuse, when a sudden inspiration dawned on him
concerning the principles of buoyancy, while he was in his bath. Being the
first diamond ever to be discovered in South Africa, the name Eureka, seems
to be very appropriate for the diamond.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Eureka diamond is a 10.73-carat, cushion-cut,
brownish-yellow brilliant, of unknown clarity grade. The first diamond ever
to be discovered in South Africa, being a brownish-yellow diamond, seems to
have been a harbinger of the type of diamonds to be expected from the
diamond mines in South Africa in the future. In fact it eventually turned
out that most of the diamonds discovered in South Africa, were either yellow
or brown or a mixture of the two, and came to be known as the Cape series.
In the table below, the Eureka diamond occupies the last
position, as it is a diamond of only 10.73 carats. Most of the diamonds in
this table are of South African origin except for the Incomparable,
Florentine and the Shah diamond. The Florentine and the Shah are of Indian
origin and the Incomparable is from Zaire. For a comprehensive list of
yellow diamonds more than 100 carats in weight, please refer to the page on
Mouna Diamond.
Being a brownish yellow diamond the Eureka is most
probably a Type IaAB diamond, where the yellow color is caused by N3
centers, which are groups of 3-atoms, that absorb visible light in the blue
region of the spectrum, causing it's complementary color yellow to appear.
The A and B aggregates in this diamond do not affect the color of the
diamond, as they contain an even number of atoms, 2 and 4 respectively. The
brown color of the diamond is caused by plastic deformation of the crystal
during it's formation deep inside the earth and subsequent rise to the
surface.
List of some famous yellow
diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
carat weight |
shape/cut |
color |
|
1 |
Incomparable |
407.48 |
shield shaped |
fancy brownish yellow |
|
2 |
Oppenheimer |
253.70 |
natural octahedral |
yellow |
|
3 |
De Beers |
234.65 |
cushion |
light yellow |
|
4 |
Red Cross |
205.07 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
5 |
Florentine |
137.27 |
double rose-cut |
light yellow |
|
6 |
Sarah |
132.43 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
7 |
Tiffany Yellow |
128.54 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
8 |
Vainer Briolette |
116.60 |
briolette |
fancy light yellow |
|
9 |
Mouna |
112.50 |
cushion |
fancy intense yellow |
|
10 |
The Alnatt |
101.29 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
11 |
Walska |
95.00 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
12 |
Shah Diamond |
88.70 |
table |
yellow |
|
13 |
Porges |
78.53 |
asscher |
fancy yellow |
|
14 |
Victoria Transvaal |
67.89 |
pear |
brownish yellow |
|
15 |
Peacock |
20.65 |
radiant |
fancy intense yellow |
|
16 |
Shepard |
18.30 |
cushion |
fancy intense yellow |
|
17 |
Eureka |
10.73 |
cushion |
brownish yellow |
History
There are two different versions on how the Eureka
diamond came to be discovered. According to the first version a shepherd boy
who was tending his sheep along the south bank of the Orange River, near
Hopetown, casually picked up a small shining pebble from the ground. The
Shepherd boy gave the shining pebble, to a 15-year old boy named Erasmus
Jacobs, who subsequently gave it to his neighbor, farmer Schalk Van Niekerk,
who was a collector of rare and unusual stones. Van Niekerk showed the
pebble to John O' Reilly, a traveling peddler, and sought his advice. John
O'Reilly knew of a person who lived in Grahamstown in the Cape Colony, one
Dr. W. J. Atherstone, who was an authority on minerals and gems. John
O'Reilly collected the pebble from Van Niekirk and sent it in an unsealed
envelope to Dr. W. G. Atherstone, for his evaluation. After careful
examination Dr. Atherstone identified the pebble as a 21.25-carat brownish
yellow diamond, and the information was passed on to Van Niekirk. Eventually
the stone was sold to Sir Philip Wodehouse for a sum of £ 500.
According to the second version, which is slightly
different from the first, Mr. Van Niekirk who was a pioneering colonist
settled in Griqualand, had a visitor one day in 1867, in the person of John
O'Reilly, a trader and hunter, who was returning home to Colesburg from the
interior of the countryside, and decided to break journey, and perhaps lodge
with Van Niekirk for the night. Later in the evening, John O'Reilly,
happened to observe Van Niekirk's little daughter, playing with some pebbles
collected from the neighborhood, and was particularly attracted by a shining
stone that seemed to reflect strongly the evening rays of light, of the
setting sun. Reilly picked up the stone, and after careful examination,
offered to buy the stone from Van Niekirk, who was puzzled by Reilly's
unusual interest on a worthless pebble. Van Niekirk assured Reilley, that he
could have the stone for free, and would not take any money for it. The
honest trader Reilly told Van Niekirk that he believed the pebble to be a
precious stone of value and would not take it for nothing. Finally it was
agreed that O'Reilly should carry the stone, and after ascertaining it's
authenticity and value, sell the stone and subsequently divide the proceeds
equally between them. O"Reilly carried the stone to Colesburg, and later
dispatched it to Dr. Atherstone of Grahamston, an authority on minerals and
gemstones, for testing and evaluation. After a careful examination Dr. Atherstone was convinced that the pebble indeed was a diamond, but sought a
second opinion from another authority, in the person of the Roman Catholic
Bishop of Grahamstown, Bishop Ricards, who was a man of science. The Bishop
confirmed that the pebble was a diamond. The stone was later sent to Hon.
Richard Southey, the Colonial Secretary, who later became the Lieutenant
Governor of Griqualand West, who sought further expert opinion on the
authenticity of the stone, and everyone was agreed that the stone indeed was
a diamond. The Colonial Secretary, later forwarded the stone to the Queens
Jewellers, Messrs. Hunt and Roskell, in England, and the finding of the
experts in South Africa was confirmed. They also valued the stone at £ 500.
The stone was then purchased by Sir Philip Wodehouse, the Governor of the
colony at that time, for £ 500.
The principal characters in both versions are almost the
same except for the person who actually discovered the stone. In the first
version while the discoverer of the stone is a shepherd boy, in the second
version the credit is given to a small girl, who was perhaps a daughter of
Van Niekirk.
The 22.5-carat rough diamond was then displayed at the
Paris Exposition held in 1867. Subsequently, the stone was cut and polished
in one of the diamond cutting centers in Europe, and transformed into a
10.73-carat, cushion-cut, brownish yellow brilliant, known as the Eureka
diamond. The diamond is now preserved in the De Beers Archives, not for it's
exceptional qualities as a diamond but more for it's historic significance.
The discovery of the Eureka diamond, provided the
incentive for people to look for more stones of a similar type, and before
long another stone of 8.9 carats was discovered, which also was purchased by
Sir Philip Woodhouse for £ 200. The news of the two discoveries spread like
wildfire, and there was great excitement all over the country. The natives
started looking for diamonds everywhere and perhaps a more significant find
was reported on the neighboring Zandfontein farm by a Griqua witch doctor by
the name of Swartbooi. Van Niekirk approached the witch doctor, and
successfully negotiated the purchase of this rough diamond in a barter deal,
in which he acquired the stone, in exchange for 500 sheep, 10 oxen and a
horse, almost all of Van Niekirk's possessions. Van Niekirk sold the stone
to Messrs. Lilienfeld Brothers of Hopetown for £ 11,200, and the stone was
christened as the "Star of South Africa". The rough stone was forwarded to
England, where it was cut and polished into a pear-shaped, three-sided,
D-color, stellar brilliant, weighing 47.69 carats, which was later purchased
by the Earl of Dudley, and became known as the Dudley diamond. The Dudley
diamond has gone down in history, as the diamond that turned the tides of
fortune in South Africa, setting off a diamond rush, that eventually led to
the discovery of the famous Kimberley, and other mines that changed the
course of history of South Africa forever.
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