Origin of Name
The Kahn Canary diamond gets its name from Stan Kahn, of Kahn Jewelers in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who purchased the unnamed diamond from its founder, George Stepp of Carthage Arkansas. The name of the diamond combines the name of the owner with the rare intense yellow color of the diamond, known as canary yellow.
Kahn Canary Diamond
Characteristics of the diamond
The Kahn Canary has been preserved in its natural rough state because of its unique natural triangular pillow shape, with its rare canary yellow color, that radiates a brightness and brilliance that equals or perhaps surpasses a cut and polished diamond. The diamond appears to be flawless. The weight of the diamond is unknown. The uniqueness of the diamond in its natural uncut form has made it the unofficial symbol of Arkansas State, nicknamed "The Natural State."
All yellow colored diamonds are Type I diamonds, because they contain nitrogen impurities that impart the yellow color to diamonds. Almost 98 % of all natural diamonds contain nitrogen impurities and are therefore classified as Type I diamonds. The remaining 1-2 % of natural diamonds that do not contain nitrogen impurities are known as Type II diamonds.
Type I diamonds are sub-divided in two :- Type I a and Type I b.
The basis for this division is whether the nitrogen atoms are distributed as single atoms or groups of atoms in the crystal structure.
Type I a :- Nitrogen atoms found as groups of atoms. 98 % of all natural diamonds belong to this group.
Type I b :- Nitrogen atoms scattered as single atoms. Only 0.1 % of natural diamonds belong to this group.
When nitrogen atoms are scattered as single atoms in the crystal structure, they absorb visible light in the blue end of the spectrum imparting an intense yellow color to the diamonds. The rare canary yellow belongs to this group.
Thus canary yellow diamonds are Type I b diamonds that constitute only 0.1 % of all naturally occurring diamonds. Therefore the Kahn Canary is also a rare Type I b diamond. Two of the most famous canary yellow diamonds in the world are, the 205.07-carat Red Cross diamond and the 128.54-carat Tiffany Yellow diamond.
History
The Kahn Canary diamond was discovered by George Stepp of Carthage, Arkansas, in the Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, Arkansas, in 1977. Crater of Diamonds State Park, is the world's only publicly-owned diamond prospecting site, where visitors are allowed to search for diamonds and other gems, for a fee, and keep what they find, regardless of the value of the gems. This liberal policy adopted by the State Authorities, had yielded rich dividends, by boosting tourist attractions to the State, and the park undoubtedly has become the State's biggest tourist attraction. One is but compelled to compare this liberal policy with the situation that prevailed in South Africa, in the early days of diamond prospecting, when individual diamond prospectors and diggers were subjected to exorbitant and arbitrary taxes on their finds, which tended to discourage mining and hide the valuable finds.
The search area of the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 36½ acre site, which is believed to be the eroded surface of a gem-bearing volcanic pipe known as the Prairie Creek Kimberlite pipe. Kimberlites, which are a type of igneous rock are mica Peridotites that are found in pipes. They are rare occurrences in cratonic (stable), areas of the earth's crust. The stable interiors of South Africa and Siberia have wide spread occurrences, but these pipes are also found in North America, Australia, Brazil, and India. Not all Kimberlites contain diamonds. When diamonds do occur, they constitute less than one part per million of the rock.
In the Crater of Diamonds State Park, besides diamonds other precious and semi-precious stones such as garnets, amethysts, agate, jasper, quartz etc, have also been found.
Hilary Clinton,Secretary of State
The Kahn Canary was lent to Hilary Clinton, to wear, on two ceremonial occasions, one, her husband Bill Clinton's inauguration as the Governor of Arkansas, and the other, the inauguration of Bill Clinton as the President of the United States of America. For this purpose the diamond was mounted on a ring custom-designed for Mrs. Clinton. The picture shows the diamond in this ring setting.
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