Origin of name
The Florentine diamond gets its name from the city of
Florence (Latin Florentia), the renowned and historic city, situated 230 Km
northwest of Rome, which had been the seat of the Duchy of Tuscany
(1537-1860), ruled by several generations of the Medici Family, and was once
the Capital of Italy for a short period (1865-71). Among the most famous
citizens of this great city are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante,
Machiavelli, and Galileo. The diamond had been with the Medici Family from
the late 16th century up to 1737, when it passed to the Hapsburgs of
Austria, and became part of the Austrian Crown Jewels.
The Florentine diamond also had several alternative
names, such as the Tuscan, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Austrian diamond,
and the Austrian Yellow Brilliant.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Florentine diamond had a pale yellow color, with a
slightly green overtone and weighed 137.27 carats. The diamond was an
irregular, 9-sided double rose-cut stone, with a shield shape and
having 126 facets. A double rose-cut is a modified briolette with a girdle.
The Florentine diamond occupies the 5th position in the
table given below. In this list of famous yellow diamonds there are only two
diamonds of Indian origin, the Florentine, and the Shah diamond. The
remaining diamonds are of African Origin, mainly South Africa, and countries
like the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). This is not an accident, but
just a confirmation of the fact that Indian diamonds were of superior
quality, and the occurrence of yellow diamonds in India, was very rare.
Yellow and brown diamonds came to the forefront only after the discovery of
the Cape series of diamonds in South Africa.
List of 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 |
The Florentine diamond, being a pale yellow diamond is
most probably a Type IaAB diamond, in which the yellow color is caused by
groups of three nitrogen atoms known as N3 centers, found in the crystal
structure of the diamond. Groups of even numbers of nitrogen atoms, such as two atoms
(A-aggregate) and Four atoms (B-aggregates), occur together with N3 centers,
but do not affect the color of the diamond. N3 centers absorb visible light
in the blue region of the spectrum, and causes the complementary color of
blue, which is yellow color, to appear. N3 centers can impart a yellow
color, ranging from pale to medium yellow, depending on the concentration of
these centers.
History
The Florentine diamond may be either a 15th or 16th
century diamond, according to two different versions of the early history of
the diamond. If it is a 15th century diamond, the diamond might have
originated in any one of the groups of mines situated in the river basins on
the eastern side of the Deccan Plateau, such as the Sambalpur mines, which
had been worked since ancient times. If the diamond was a 16th century
diamond, it could have originated in The Kollur mines of Golconda,
which was discovered in the mid 16th century.
Thus there is no dispute about the origin of this
diamond. The diamond is definitely of Indian origin. There is also no
dispute that the diamond became the property of the Medici Family, during
the reign of Ferdinando I de Medici, the 3rd Grand Duke of Tuscany
(1587-1609). But controversy arises as to how the stone left the shores of
India and eventually became part of the Medici treasury at Florence.
According to one version, the Portuguese Governor of Goa,
Ludovico Castro, Count of Montesanto, acquired the rough stone from the King
of Vijayanagar in Southern India, after his troops attacked and defeated the
King's troops in the late 16th century. The diamond found it's way to Rome,
where it was entrusted to the custody of Jesuits. Ferdinando I de Medici,
was interested in purchasing the rough diamond, and he initiated
negotiations with the members of the Castro-Noranha family. After protracted
negotiations the Grand Duke of Tuscany succeeded in purchasing the stone for
35,000 Portuguese scudi crocati.
Cosimo II succeeded his father Ferdinando I de Medici, as
the 4th Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1609. He also inherited the rough diamond
purchased by his father, and he entrusted a Venetian cutter Pompeo
Studentoli, with the task of cutting the diamond. After the completion of
the cutting and polishing, the finished gem was delivered to the Duke on
October 10, 1615. An inventory drawn up on Cosimo IIs death, confirms the
acquisition of the rough diamond by Ferdinand, and describes the gem
as faceted on both sides, and encircled by a diamond encrusted band.
According to an alternate version, the rough stone which
somehow left the shores of India, was purchased by Charles the Bold, Duke of
Burgundy (1467 to 1477). This is about a 100 years before the alleged
acquisition of the stone by Ludovico Castro, the Portuguese Governor of Goa,
in the earlier version. Charles entrusted the cutting of the stone to
Lodewyk van Berken. Charles the Bold wore the diamond as a pendant to a
chain, around his neck. Charles had the habit of wearing the diamond,
whenever he went out on his military campaigns, which invariably resulted in
victory for his army.
A brilliant and ambitious soldier, Charles was determined
to make Burgundy, independent of France, and try to make it a Kingdom if
possible. He fought many successful battles up to 1474, and was able to
extend the territorial boundaries of Burgundy, and free the territory from
French control. Charles' alliance with King Edward IV of England, whose
sister he married in 1468, gave an added boost to his military successes. He
subdued Luxembourg, Netherlands, and other smaller territories, in his
ambition to extend his territories a far as the Rhine. But failure came when
he tried to subdue Cologne and the Swiss Cantons. His misfortune came with a
shift in the alliances, which saw King Edward IV aligned with his enemy,
King Louis XI of France. A coalition of the Swiss, Austria, and Lorraine was
determined to stop Charles and was supported by Louis XI of France. Charles
was defeated by the Swiss at the Battle of Granson and Morat in 1476, and on
Jan 5, 1477, at the battle of Nancy, Charles himself was killed.
After Charles was killed, a peasant or foot soldier found
the diamond on the Duke's person, and thinking it was apiece of glass, sold
it for a florin (local currency of Florence, which was once a world monetary
standard) to Bartholomew May, a citizen of Berne, who in turn sold it to a
Genoese. Ludovico Sforza purchased the diamond from the Genoese. Eventually
the Florentine diamond seems to have been acquired by the great financier, Jacob Fugger, who was also reported to have purchased the
Sancy and the "three brothers jewel", belonging to Charles the Bold, from
the Bishop of Basel, in 1504. The Florentine diamond then passed through several
hands, including possibly Pope Julius II, until it was purchased by Ferdinando I de Medici, the 3rd Duke of Tuscany.
Cosimo II died in 1621 and was succeeded by his son
Fedinando II, who was just 10 years old. Ferdinand II's grandmother,
Christine of Lorraine and his mother, Maria Magdalene of Austria, were
nominated regents. Ferdinand II assumed the reins of government at the age
of 17, in 1627, after completing his education in Rome and Vienna.
The Florentine diamond was inherited by Ferdinando II
Medici, the 5th Grand Duke of Tuscany, and it was during his rule in 1657,
that the famous French traveler and jeweler Jean Baptiste Tavernier, saw the
diamond among the Duke's possessions, and probably made the drawings of the
Florentine, which he published in his book, "The Six Voyages of Jean
Baptiste Tavernier", in 1676. In this drawing the Florentine is depicted as
a 9-sided, double rose-cut diamond, having a shield shape.
Cosimo III succeeded his father Ferdinando II de Medici,
upon his death, as the 6th Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1670, and reigned for 53
years, up to 1723, longer than any of the Medicis.
When Cosimo III died in 1723, he was succeeded by his son
Gian Gastone, the last of the Medicis, who was childless. After Gian
Gastone's death in 1737, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany passed to the Dukes of
Lorraine.
Francis I Stephen of Lorraine succeeded Gian Gastone as
the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1737. He married Maria Theresa, the daughter of
the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, in 1736. In October 1740, when Charles VI
died, Maria Theresa ascended the throne as the Archduchess of Austria and
Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, under the pragmatic sanction, a royal act,
which entitled a female child to succeed to the domains of the Hapsburgs.
Francis I Stephen was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1745.
After the death of the last of the Medicis, Gian Gastone,
the Florentine diamond became the property of Francis I Stephen, the Grand
Duke of Tuscany, and through him passed into the hands of the Hapsburgs, and
was placed in he Hapsburgs Crown Jewels in the Hofburg in Vienna. The Stone
was valued at $ 750,000 around this time. The stone remained as part of the
Austrian Crown Jewels up to world war I.
With the fall of the Austrian Empire during world war I,
the Imperial family went into exile in Switzerland. The Florentine diamond
was also taken by them to Switzerland. Later a person close to the family,
is reported to have stolen the diamond, and taken it to South America,
together with other gems of the Austrian Crown Jewels. Subsequently, it is
believed that the Florentine was taken to the United States in the 1920s,
and was re-cut and sold. The whereabouts of the Florentine is not known
after this and it is listed with other lost renowned diamonds of the world.
Another interesting version of what happened to the
Florentine diamond after world war I, is given by the Encyclopaedia
Britannica- 2006 Edition. According to this version the Florentine diamond
never left Austria after world war I, but remained in Austria as part of the
Austrian Crown Jewels up to world war II. The Florentine was seized by the
Germans, when they took over Austria, just before world war II. It was
subsequently recovered by the U. S. 3rd. Army, and returned to the Viennese
by General Mark Clark.
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