Origin of name
The name "Golden Star" seem to reflect the brilliance and
color of this large fancy vivid yellow cushion-cut diamond, one of the
largest of its kind in the world.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The "Golden Star" diamond is a 101.28-carat, cushion-cut,
fancy-vivid yellow diamond with a VS-1 clarity. Fancy vivid yellow is the
highest grading for color in the GIA color grading scale.
The "Golden Star" diamond is one of the largest
cushion-cut yellow diamonds in the world. In the list of famous yellow
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight, the "Golden Star" diamond
occupies the 28th position, just below the Alnatt diamond which is also a
cushion-cut, fancy vivid yellow diamond of 101.29 carats. See table below.
List of famous yellow
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
Color |
|
1 |
Incomparable |
407.48 |
shield shaped |
fancy brownish yellow |
|
2 |
Oppenheimer-uncut |
253.70 |
natural octahedral |
yellow |
|
3 |
De Beers |
234.65 |
cushion |
light yellow |
|
4 |
Red Cross |
205.07 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
5 |
unnamed |
200.87 |
pear |
yellow |
|
6 |
Moon |
183.00 |
round |
pale yellow |
|
7 |
unnamed |
180.85 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
8 |
Star of Peace |
170.49 |
pear |
brownish yellow |
|
9 |
Hope of Africa |
151.91 |
cushion |
fancy yellow |
|
10 |
Unnamed |
150.00 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
11 |
Florentine |
137.27 |
double rose cut |
light yellow |
|
12 |
Algeiba Star |
135.03 |
square brilliant |
yellow |
|
13 |
Sarah |
132.43 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
14 |
Golden Hue |
132.42 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
15 |
Tiffany Yellow |
128.54 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
16 |
Stewart |
123.00 |
brilliant |
yellow |
|
17 |
Meister |
118.00 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
18 |
Vainer Briolette |
116.60 |
briolette |
fancy light yellow |
|
19 |
Unnamed |
114.64 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
20 |
Unnamed |
114.03 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
21 |
Mouna |
112.50 |
cushion |
fancy intense yellow |
|
22 |
African Yellow |
112.00 |
- |
yellow |
|
23 |
Anon |
108.04 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
24 |
Rojtman |
107.46 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
25 |
Golden Sun |
105.54 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
26 |
Golden Door |
104.95 |
pear |
yellow |
|
27 |
Alnatt |
101.29 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
28 |
Golden Star |
101.28 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
29 |
Sunrise |
100.52 |
emerald |
yellow |
The "Golden Star" diamond being a fancy vivid yellow
diamond is undoubtedly a Type Ib diamond, in which the intense yellow color
is caused by single nitrogen atoms scattered in the crystal. The nitrogen
atoms absorb visible light in the blue region of the spectrum, causing its
complementary color yellow to manifest itself. However the occurrence of
such intense yellow color diamonds is only 0.1 % of all naturally occurring
diamonds. Other famous diamonds which belong to this category are the Alnatt
diamond, the Mouna diamond, the Tiffany yellow diamond, the Sarah diamond
and the Red Cross diamond.
Type Ia diamonds on the other hand have nitrogen atoms
associated as groups of 2, 3, and 4 atoms, known respectively as
A-aggregates, N3 centers, and B-aggregates respectively. A and B aggregates
having even number of nitrogen atoms do not affect the color of diamonds.
But, N3 centers having odd number of nitrogen atoms do affect the color of
diamonds. Most of the natural diamonds are Type Ia and Sub-type IaAB, in
which A and B aggregates and N3 centers occur together and constitute almost
98% of all naturally occurring diamonds. These diamonds range in color from
light to medium yellow.
History
The Golden Star rough diamond weighed 204 carats and was
discovered in the famous Finsch Mine located in the Northern Cape in South
Africa. The date of discovery and other details of the early history of the
diamond are not known. The diamond was purchased either by Graff diamonds,
South Africa or its subsidiary South African Diamond Company (SAFDICO). The
purchase price of the rough diamond is not known.
The rough diamond was partially processed in
Johannesburg, South Africa, where Graff has its largest diamond processing
factory employing over 300 craftsmen, processing diamonds weighing thousands
of carats each year. But, the Johannesburg factory had been specially set up
to process smaller diamonds. Graff's workshops that specialize in cutting
larger diamonds are situated in Antwerp and New York. The Golden Star
diamond after partial processing in Johannesburg was sent to the Graff
workshop in New York, where it was cut and polished by the skilled master
cutter in charge of the workshop, into a magnificent cushion-cut, fancy
vivid yellow brilliant of 101.28 carats. The loss of weight entailed in the
process was 103 carats, equivalent to 50.5 %. Such loss of weights are
normal in maximizing for quality and brilliance. Quality is usually achieved
only at the expense of quantity.
Laurence Graff set the Golden Star diamond as the
centerpiece of a spectacular necklace weighing 176.82 carats. In March 2005,
this necklace was exhibited at the TEFAF Maastricht, the world's leading art
and antiques fair as part of the Haute Joaillerie du Monde section. The
TEFAF Maastricht fair is sponsored by AXA Art, the only insurer in the world
that specializes exclusively in insuring art works belonging to art dealers,
private collectors, museums etc., and is part of the AXA Group, worldwide
market leaders in Insurance.
Read more about
Lawrence Graff
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