Origin of name
The diamond gets its name from the unique and rare fancy
vivid yellow color of the stone, which in the rough state is said to have
mesmerized the "King of Diamonds" Laurence Graff, when he saw the stone for
the first time. The unusual hue and color of the stone was so enthralling,
radiating orange and yellow colors reminiscent of the golden sun. The cut
and polished diamond retained the original colors, fire and brilliance of
the rough stone, and came to be known as the "Dream Diamond."
Characteristics of the
diamond
The diamond is a 100.09-carat, cushion-cut, fancy vivid
yellow diamond, with exceptional clarity. The crown of the diamond is about
25mm (one inch) square.
Being a fancy vivid yellow diamond, the Graff vivid
yellow is a rare Type Ib diamond, which constitute only about 0.1 % of all
naturally occurring diamonds. It is Type I, because it contains nitrogen
impurities that impart yellow color to the diamonds. It is Type Ib, because
the nitrogen atoms are scattered as single atoms in the crystal structure of
the diamond, which absorbs visible light in the blue region of the spectrum,
imparting its complementary color yellow to the diamonds. The intense yellow
color is associated with the distribution of nitrogen as single atoms. A
certain amount of light seems to be absorbed in the green region of the
spectrum as well. This accounts for the orange colors radiated by the
diamond, as the complementary color of green is orange.
In the list of famous yellow diamonds greater than 100 carats in
weight the Graff vivid yellow occupies the 29th or last position.
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/Mahjal |
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 |
Sunrise |
100.52 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
29 |
Graff vivid yellow |
100.09 |
cushion |
fancy vivid
yellow |
History
The diamond is of South African origin, but the mine of
origin is not known. Laurence Graff saw the diamond for the first time in
Kimberley, South Africa, and purchased it either towards the end of 2005 or
the beginning of 2006. The original owner of the diamond or the purchase
price of the diamond are not known.
The rough diamond weighed 190.72 carats. Laurence Graff
was shocked and surprised to see such a magnificent stone radiating orange
and yellow hues. The stone appeared to be on fire, spontaneously radiating
sensational orange and yellow colors resembling the golden sun. "The King of
Diamonds" seem to be mesmerized and enthralled by the appearance of the
stone. The color of the rough diamond was so exceptional, something that
Graff had never seen before, that it immediately aroused his suspicions as
to its authenticity. Only artificially colored diamonds could have such
perfect colors. Graff dispatched the diamond to the Gemological Institute of
America, for testing and certification. He was gratified by the results of
the tests, which showed that the diamond was entirely a natural stone.
The next formidable challenge was the cutting and
polishing of the diamond, in order to preserve the extraordinary color of
the diamond, and to get a product that exceeds the magical weight of 100
carats, in order to be classified as a truly remarkable diamond. The task of
any diamond cutter is very challenging, because it is the cut of the diamond
that ultimately brings out the intrinsic beauty of a stone, that has a major
bearing on its monetary value. This necessarily entails a detail study of
the rough diamond both externally and internally, before deciding on the
most appropriate cut that suits the rough stone, keeping in mind the
requirements of the owner of the diamond, who may wish to have a final
product that preserves certain characteristics of the stone, as in this
instance.
The man who was chosen for this challenging assignment
was none other than Graff's master cutter, Antonio Bianco who is also known
as Nino. It was a great honor for Nino to be chosen for this challenging
task, and he rose to the occasion to meet this great challenge, in order to
justify the confidence reposed on him. The intricate skills needed to be an
accomplished diamond cutter, comes with experience, and the knowledge
required to acquire such demanding skills, have usually been passed down
from generation to generation, sometimes extending back to several
centuries. Antonio Bianco also hails from a family of diamond cutters who
had been practicing the art for several generations. He too was introduced
into the family's traditional business at an early age in his life. He was
just 18 years old when he was initiated into the family vocation as an
apprentice in Johannesburg. His two sons are also following in the father's
footsteps. Nino had already acquired a reputation in the trade as a top
class master-cutter, having handled some of the most famous diamonds in the
world, acquired by the King of Diamonds Laurence Graff.
After a period of extensive study of the rough diamond,
Nino started work on this ambitious project. He was totally immersed in this
time consuming task for at least nine months, which according to him was a
relentless process of total engagement, commitment and endless maneuvering.
Eventually the 190.72-carat rough crystal was transformed into a magnificent
100.09 carat, cushion-cut diamond, that was still radiating the orange and
yellow colors that imparted the "fire-like" appearance to the original rough
stone. The fire and brilliance of the finished stone was indeed
unprecedented. The finished diamond was indeed a "Dream Diamond" as the
stone came to be characterized by those who had privilege of seeing it.
The "Dream Diamond" was set as a pendent to a magnificent
necklace made of pear-shaped smaller white diamonds, and was unveiled to the
world in October 2006, by Laurence Graff, at the London's Kensington Palace,
after he received the "Queen's Award for Enterprise" in international trade,
for the fourth time.
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