Origin of name
The Liberator diamond that was discovered in the Gran
Sabana region of Venezuela in 1942, was named in honor of Simon Bolivar the
19th century liberator of Venezuela and other Spanish colonies of Colombia,
Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, from the yoke of Spanish imperialism. The people
of these countries fondly refer to him as El Libertador.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The 155-carat rough Liberator diamond was an exceptional
quality D-color diamond, that was eventually cleaved and processed into four
faceted diamonds by Harry Winston, in 1944. Three of these diamonds were
emerald-cuts having weights of 39.80, 18.12 and 8.93 carats, and the
smallest diamond was a marquise-cut having a weight of 1.44 carats.
Being D-color the Liberator diamonds are most
probably Type IIa diamonds, that are absolutely colorless. They are
chemically pure and structurally perfect diamonds. In the absence of factors
that impart color to diamonds, these diamonds are absolutely colorless.
However they constitute only about 1-2 % of all naturally occurring
diamonds.
History
Venezuela and Guyana two countries situated in the north
of the South American continent, had been famous as commercial sources of
alluvial diamonds. Both industrial and gem-quality diamonds have been
recovered from the gravels of the river basins of Venezuela and Guyana. In
Venezuela diamonds have been mostly found along the Paragua and Caroni
rivers. Good quality crystals have been found mainly from the Guanaimo
region and Gran Sabana region, in the Bolivar Province of Venezuela.
The exceptional quality 155-carat Liberator rough diamond
was discovered by three miners in 1942, from the Gran Sabana region of the
Bolivar Province of Venezuela. The diamond was acquired in 1943, by the New
York based internationally famous diamond dealer and jeweler Harry Winston,
founder of the Harry Winston Inc. of New York.
In 1944, Harry Winston entrusted the cutting of the rough
diamond to Adrian Grasselly, an expert diamond cutter, who studied the rough
stone extensively for at least two months, before embarking on the actual
cutting. At first he cleaved the diamond into two unequal pieces weighing
115 carats and 40 carats. Further cleavings resulted in four pieces, which
were eventually transformed into four exceptional quality diamonds. The
largest diamond was a 39.80-carat, emerald-cut stone of exceptional clarity.
The second and third largest diamonds were 18.12 and 8.93 carats
respectively, and were both emerald cuts. The 4th diamond was only 1.44
carats and was a marquise cut. The total weight of the finished diamonds was
68.29 carats, resulting in a loss of 86.71 carats, which is equivalent to a
percentage loss of 56 %. Such losses are inevitable in the processing of
rough diamonds in order to eliminate all inclusions and to maximize the
quality of the products. Quality in diamonds is usually achieved at the
expense of quantity.
The three smaller stones were set by Harry Winston on an
elaborate clip. The largest of the Liberator diamonds the 39.80-carat
emerald-cut stone was sold by Harry Winston in 1947 to Mrs. May Bonfils
Stanton, daughter of Frederick Bonfils, owner of the Denver Post, who was
heiress to the Denver Post fortune.
Mrs May Bonfils Stanton
Mrs. May Stanton had shown an interest in jewels
since early childhood and assembled a famous collection of jewels and
jewelry. Her collection included a diamond necklace studded with twelve
emeralds weighing 107 carats. Other notable items were the Liberator diamond
and the legendary Idol's Eye diamond. The Idol's eye was set as a pendant to
a diamond necklace containing 41 round brilliants and 45 baguettes with a
total weight of 34.50 carats. She is reported to have worn this necklace
every morning for breakfast. The house in which she lived the "Belmar
Mansion", was an exact replica of Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon palace in
France.
Mrs. May Stanton was not only a collector and connoisseur
of jewels and jewelry, but also artifacts, sculptures and paintings. The
estate in which her house was situated covered an area of 750 acres. She was
first married to Clyde Berryman from whom she separated in 1947, and later
in 1956 married her long-time friend Charles Stanton. She was also a
philanthropist who supported many charitable causes in her native state of
Colorado. After her death in 1962, her husband Charles Stanton set up the
Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, to support various charities, and other
non-profit organizations involved in the areas of Arts and Culture,
Community Service, and Science and Medicine.
After May Stanton's death in 1962, the part of her estate
constituting jewels and jewelry, were put up for auction by Parke-Bernet
Inc. of New York. Harry Winston then re-acquired the Liberator diamond at
this auction for a sum of $ 180,000. He then mounted the diamond on a
platinum ring, with tapering diamond baguettes.
Simon Bolivar - The
Liberator
Simon Bolivar was borne in Caracas, Venezuela, on July
24th 1783. He was born to wealth and position being the son of a Venezuelan
aristocrat of Spanish descent. He lost both his parents when he was young,
and came under the care of his uncle. He was sent to Europe at the age of 16
to complete his education. He lived in Spain for three years, and in 1801
married the daughter of a Spanish nobleman, with whom he returned to
Caracas. Unfortunately, barely an year after her marriage she died of yellow
fever, a disease endemic to that region. In 1804 he returned to Europe, and
in Paris, he met his childhood tutor Simon Rodriguez, who introduced him to
the writings of European nationalist thinkers such as Voltaire, Rousseau,
Helvetius and others. Such writings had a great influence over him, and
helped to instill in his mind the idea of independence for Hispanic America.
He returned to Venezuela in 1807 and in the following
year launched the Latin American independence movement. Around this time
Napoleon's invasion of Spain, had weakened Spain's authority, and Simon
Bolivar took advantage of this situation, expelled the Spanish Governor in
1810, and declared Venezuela's independence in 1811. Bolivar now joined the
army of the young republic and was placed in charge of Puerto Cabello, a
port vital to Venezuela. However, the Spanish were able to take control of
the country again in 1812, and Bolivar escaped to Cartagena in Colombia.
While at Cartagena he published the EL MANIFIESTO DE CARTAGENA a political
document that urged revolutionary forces to destroy the power of Spain in
Venezuela.
Simon Bolivar organized an expeditionary force while at
Cartagena, and as commander led his forces against the Spanish Army and
defeated them in six pitched battles, and regained control of the Capital of
Venezuela. He entered Caracas on August 1813, and was given the title of
Liberator. He then assumed the leadership of the country as a dictator. but,
again in 1914 he was defeated by the Spanish with the help of the cow boys (Ilaneros)
led by Jose Tomas Boves. Bolivar now took refuge in Jamaica, where he
published his second document LA CARTA DE JAMAICA, the letter from Jamaica,
in which he expressed his dream of several independent constitutional
republics through out Hispanic America to replace the existing colonial
order, with a bicameral parliament, consisting of a hereditary upper house
and an elected lower house and a president chosen for life. His idea of a
life president was perhaps motivated by his desire for political stability,
for these newly formed republics in order to achieve rapid development.
The Spanish sent a large expeditionary force in 1815, to
suppress the growing independence movements. Simon Bolivar turned to the
Americans and the British for help, but was turned down. Later he sought
assistance from newly independent Haiti, which was readily granted, in the
form of money and weapons. He engaged the services of thousands of foreign
soldiers that included the British and Irish, and in 1819, conducted the
most daring attack in military history, that sought to capture New Granada
(Columbia), through flood-swept plains and snow-covered mountains, and took
the Spanish by surprise, and in the battle that followed the bulk of the
Spanish army surrendered to Simon Bolivar. New Granada was liberated and
Simon Bolivar was unanimously elected President of the new Republic of
Colombia, that also included Venezuela and Ecuador as a Federation. However
Venezuela and Ecuador were still under Spanish rule. A revolution in Spain
saw the decline of the absolute monarchy and recognition of more
liberal ideals. This discouraged the Spanish soldiers in Latin America from
continuing the fight. In 1821 Bolivar liberated his homeland Venezuela after
defeating the demoralized Spanish forces in battle.
Bolivar entrusted the Federation to his Vice-President
Santander, and continued his military campaign to liberate Ecuador. In June
1822, he was able to liberate Ecuador with the help of his brilliant officer
Jose de Sucre. At Quito, the Capital of Ecuador, he met his future partner
in life, Manuela Saenz, a fellow revolutionary and fighter. Having liberated
the three territories of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, Bolivar turned
his attention to Peru. His forces marched into Lima in 1823, but the Spanish
forces had retreated to the safety of the mountains east of Lima. It took
Bolivar about an year to assemble a formidable army, horses and mules, that
could undertake an assault on the mountainous stronghold of the Spaniards.
In 1824, his army ascended the hills and on December 9, 1824, the Spanish
forces surrendered to Bolivar after their defeat in battle.
Bolivar was now the President of The Colombian Federation
and Peru, and only upper Peru was still under the control of the Royalist
forces. He entrusted the capture of upper Peru to his able commander
Sucre, who finished the job by April 1825. The people of upper Peru were so
pleased by the liberation of their state by Bolivar, that they decided to
call their new nation Bolivia.
Bolivar's dream of binging in all the newly independent
nations into a federation failed due to mutual suspicions, disunity, and the
personal ambitions of local leaders. Bolivar was completely disheartened by
the ingratitude of his former generals and adherents. He left Bogota in May
1830, hoping to take refuge in Europe, but later abandoned his plans when
his able general Sucre, whom he trained to succeed him was assassinated.
Bolivar was invited by a Spanish admirer, to his estate in Santa Marta, to
spend his days of retirement. He accepted his invitation and settled in
Santa Marta with his beloved wife Manuela Saenz. However, by the end of
1830, he fell seriously sick and died of tuberculosis, ironically in the
house of a Spaniard, with whom he had fought many bitter wars.
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