Origin of name
The "Golden Maharajah" is a golden brown diamond of
unknown early history, but almost certainly of South African origin, which
surfaced in its cut and polished form in 1937, when it was first exhibited
at the Paris World fair. The origin of the name Maharajah is uncertain, as
much as the early history of the diamond itself. The owner of the diamond
may have chosen the name on purpose, as it translates to mean, the "Golden
Prince" which perhaps reflect the exceptional quality of the stone. It may
also be, that the owner got his inspiration from the royalty of India, the
Maharajahs, the rulers of the princely states of India, who were well
renowned as connoisseurs and collectors of diamonds. It may also be possible
that one of the previous owners of the diamond was a Maharajah, a title that
ceased to exist after the abolition of the princely states, when India
became a Republic in 1947. However, if the name was chosen deliberately, to
imply an Indian Origin, because of the superior quality of the Indian
diamonds as opposed to their South African counterparts, it has not achieved
it's purpose, as not a single brown diamond of significance has ever been
discovered in India, and even the famous yellow diamonds that were
discovered in India in the past are just a few, such as the Florentine
diamond and the Shah diamond. Diamonds of brown and yellow hues, known as
the Cape series, came to the forefront only after the discovery of diamonds
in South Africa in the late 19th century.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The G. I. A. certificate of this diamond gives it's
weight as 65.57 carats. The color grading is given as fancy dark
orange-brown and the clarity as VS-2. The cut of the diamond is a modified
pear-shape.
In the table given below the Golden Maharajah occupies
the 7th position, yet it is perhaps the largest fancy dark orange brown
diamond in the world.
List of famous brown
diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
color |
|
1 |
Golden Jubilee |
545.67 |
cushion |
fancy yellow brown |
|
2 |
Star of the South |
128.48 |
cushion |
fancy light pinkish brown |
|
3 |
Earth Star |
111.59 |
pear |
brown |
|
4 |
Cross of Asia |
109.26 |
radiant |
light brown |
|
5 |
Great Chrysanthemum |
104.16 |
pear |
fancy brown |
|
6 |
Ashberg diamond |
102.48 |
cushion |
amber |
|
7 |
Golden Maharajah |
65.57 |
pear |
fancy dark orange brown |
|
8 |
Kimberley |
55.09 |
emerald |
light brown |
Brown color in diamonds is usually caused by plastic
deformation of the crystal structure of the diamonds during their formation
in the earth's mantle, or their subsequent rise to the earth's surface.
The
plastically deformed areas in the diamond change the absorption spectrum of
the stone, imparting the brown color. If this happens in diamonds that are
free of nitrogen and other impurities also known as Type IIa diamonds, the
resulting color will be different shades of brown. However, if plastic
deformation occurs in diamonds that also contain significant quantities of
nitrogen, occurring as single atoms (Type Ib) or groups of atoms (Type Ia),
a yellow or orange color will also appear together with the brown, giving
color combinations such as brownish yellow, yellowish brown, brownish
orange, and orangish brown. Yellow color in diamonds is caused, when
nitrogen absorbs visible light in the blue region of the spectrum, causing
the complementary color yellow to appear. Likewise, orange color, which is
the complementary of green, appears when nitrogen absorbs light in the green
region of the spectrum.
The Golden Maharajah, being an orange-brown diamond, is
therefore a Type Ia or Type Ib diamond. According to the GIA color grading
system, a brown diamond in which the orange color accounts for 25 % to 50 %
of the color, is known as an "orange brown" diamond. But, a brown diamond,
where the orange color accounts for less than 25 % of the color, is known as
"orangy-brown". Thus the Golden Maharajah, which is classified as
orange-brown, should contain 25 % to 50 % orange color, indicating that it
is most probably a Type Ib diamond, as the orange color is fairly intense,
caused by scattered single atoms of nitrogen.
History
Nothing is known about the early history of the diamond,
such as the country of origin. mine of origin, date of discovery,
circumstances of the discovery, original owner of the diamond, the person or
company involved in the cutting etc. It appears that the faceted diamond
made it's first appearance, when it was first exhibited at the Paris World
Fair, held in 1937. The diamond was later loaned by it's owner Mrs. Ella
Friedus to the American Museum of Natural History, for a period of 15 years,
starting from 1975 to 1990. The diamond is most certainly of South African
origin, judging from it's orange-brown color and size, and the period
it made it's first appearance.
It is reported that Mrs. Ella Friedus sold the diamond in
1991 for a sum of $ 1.3 million. The diamond came up for sale again on April
25th, 2006, at Sotheby's New York, at a "Magnificent Jewel" sale. The stone
fetched a record sales price of $ 1,382,400.
The main source of large brown diamonds in the world has
been the diamond mines of Southern Africa, ever since diamonds were
discovered in South Africa in the 1860s. Today, the world's main producer of
brown diamonds is the Argyle diamond mines of Western Australia. But, these
diamonds are smaller in size - Less than one carat. The small brown diamonds
are processed in India, and marketed by Argyle, as champagne and cognac
diamonds. Jewelry set with these brown diamonds are becoming very popular.
Almost 80 % of the Argyle mines gem-quality rough diamonds are brown.
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!!!
