Origin of name
The "Louis Cartier Diamond" gets its name from Louis
Cartier, a third generation descendant of the founder of the French firm
Cartier,
Louis Francois Cartier, who founded the company in Paris in 1847. The new
owners of the jewelry firm purchased the diamond in 1974, and decided to
name the 107.07-carat diamond in Honor of Louis Cartier.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Louis Cartier diamond is a 107.07-carat, pear-shaped,
colorless and flawless diamond. The exact color and clarity grades of the
diamond are not known. In the list of famous colorless diamonds greater than
100 carats in weight, the Louis Cartier Diamond occupies the 22nd place. It
is the 7th largest pear-shaped colorless diamond in the world. See
table below.
List of famous
colorless diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
|
1 |
Cullinan I |
530.20 |
pear |
|
2 |
CullinanII |
317.40 |
cushion |
|
3 |
Centenary |
273.85 |
modified heart |
|
4 |
Jubilee |
245.35 |
cushion |
|
5 |
Millennium Star |
203.04 |
pear |
|
6 |
La Luna |
200.07 |
heart |
|
7 |
Orlov |
189.62 |
rose |
|
8 |
Jacob-Victoria |
184.50 |
oval |
|
9 |
Regent |
140.64 |
cushion |
|
10 |
Paragon |
137.82 |
7-sided |
|
11 |
Premier Rose |
137.02 |
pear |
|
12 |
Queen of Holland |
135.92 |
cushion |
|
13 |
Zale Light of Peace |
130.27 |
Pear |
|
14 |
Niarchos |
128.25 |
Pear |
|
15 |
Portuguese |
127.02 |
asscher |
|
16 |
Jonker |
125.35 |
emerald |
|
17 |
Al-Nader |
115.83 |
pear |
|
18 |
Taj-i-Mah |
115.06 |
moghul |
|
19 |
Edna Star |
115.00 |
emerald |
|
20 |
Koh-i-Nur |
108.93 |
oval |
|
21 |
Mouawad Magic |
108.81 |
emerald |
|
22 |
Louis Cartier |
107.07 |
pear |
|
23 |
Star of Egypt |
105.51 |
emerald |
|
24 |
Mouawad Splendor |
101.84 |
pear |
|
25 |
Star of America |
100.57 |
asscher |
|
26 |
Star of Happiness |
100.36 |
radiant |
|
27 |
Star of the Season |
100.10 |
pear |
The diamond being colorless is most probably a Type IIa
diamond, free of nitrogen impurities and all other impurities that can cause
color in diamonds. These diamonds are said to be chemically pure diamonds.
Besides this the diamond is structurally perfect, without any plastic
distortions that can also cause color in diamonds. The diamond is therefore
a chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond. Thus the diamond is a
structurally perfect Type IIa diamond, which constitute only about 1-2 % of
all naturally occurring diamonds.
History
The diamond was discovered in South Africa in September
1974, but the mine of origin is unknown. The weight of the rough diamond was
400 carats. Cartier purchased the diamond, but the master cutters involved
in processing the diamond are not known. It is said that the cutting of the
diamond took almost two years, and when completed resulted in three finished
diamonds. The largest diamond that weighed 107.07 carats, was a pear-shaped,
colorless and flawless stone, that was named in honor of Louis
Cartier(1875-1942), who created the first popular wrist watch for men in
1911, known as the Santos. Two other smaller diamonds were also produced
from the original rough and came to be known as Louis Cartier I and Louis
Cartier II.
Cartier put the diamond on display in October 1976, in
New York City, and subsequently at their branches in London and Paris. The
estimated value of the diamond in 1976 was $ 5 million. It appears that the
diamond is still in the possession of Cartier and there are no reports about
its sale. Cartier who were once referred to by the Prince of Wales, Edward
VII, as "Jeweler to Kings and King of Jewelers" had been associated with
some of the most extravagant and famous diamonds, such as the 245.35-carat
"Jubilee Diamond" sold in 1900 for $ 1.5 million, the 94.8-carat "Eastern
Star Diamond," sold in 1908, the infamous 45.52-carat Hope diamond sold
in 1911 to Evalyn Walsh McLean for $ 180,000 and the 62-carat "Taylor Burton" diamond sold
to Richard Burton in 1967 for $ 1.1 million.
History of Cartier
The jewelry firm Cartier was founded in Paris by Louis
Francois Cartier in 1847, after he took over the jewelry workshop of his
master Adolphe Picard, at 29, rue Montorgueil in Paris. Louis Francois
Cartier's son Alfred Cartier took over the administration of the company in
1874, but the credit for establishing the famous worldwide brand name of
Cartier should go to Alfred Cartier's three sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques.
Louis Cartier, the eldest son succeeded his father Alfred Cartier as the
manager of the company, and in 1899 shifted the company to its current
address at No. 13, rue de la Paix. Louis Cartier was credited for some of
the company's innovative designs and creations in jewelry, wristwatches and
clocks. Cartier's innovative, and exquisitely crafted jewelry, soon became
popular among the royal courts of Europe. The Prince of Wales who succeeded
his mother Queen Victoria in 1901, as King Edward VII, once proclaimed
Cartier as "Jeweler of Kings and King of Jewelers," and in 1904 granted
Cartier the
first royal warrant as supplier to the court of England. Even though Patek
Philippe is credited with the invention of the wristwatch in 1868, the
credit for the actual popularization of the wristwatch over the traditional
pocket watch goes to Louis Cartier. In 1904 Louis Cartier was requested by
his friend from Brazil Alberto Santos Dumont, an early pioneer of aviation,
to design a watch that would be useful during flights, as the pocket watch
was not suitable for this purpose. In response to this request Louis Cartier
designed the Santos wristwatch, which was later popularized as the first
gent's wristwatch, that went on sale in 1911. Subsequently, more models of
wristwatches followed, such as the Baignoire and Tortue in 1912, and the
Tank in1917.
As the business expanded Cartier opened two new branches,
one in London in 1902 and the other in New York in 1909. Jacques Cartier,
the youngest of the three brothers was in charge of the London branch which
eventually moved to the current address at New Bond Street. Pierre Cartier,
the second brother established the New York branch in 1909, which in 1917
moved to the current location at 653, Fifth Avenue, New York. In 1910,
Cartier opened two new branches in Moscow and the Persian Gulf. Again
between the first and second World Wars, they opened two additional branches
in Cannes and Monte Carlo. However it was the success of the New York branch
that boosted Cartier's image and helped to gain worldwide recognition. Both
Louis Cartier and Jacques Cartier passed away in 1942, and the
responsibility of running the family business fell to Pierre Cartier, who
became the President of Cartier International, which grew into a huge
multinational organization. After the war more new branches were opened in
Hong Kong, Munich and Geneva. Pierre Cartier retired from business
activities in 1947 at the age of 69, and settled in Geneva.
The family business was now run by a fourth generation of
Cartiers. Louis Cartier's son Claude Cartier became the manager of the New
York branch. Jacques Cartier's son Jean Jacques Cartier was in charge of the
London branch, and Pierre Cartier's daughter Marionne Claudelle became the
manager of the Paris branch. Pierre Cartier died in 1964 at the age of 86
years. After Pierre Cartier's death in 1964, Claude Cartier, Jean Cartier
and Marionne Claudelle decided to sell the family businesses and for the
first time the ownership of Cartier's was transferred to outsiders who did
not belong to the Cartier family.
In 1972, a group of investors purchased Cartier Paris,
and Robert Hocq became its president, the creator of the concept of "Les
Must de Cartier." The new owners of Cartier Paris, later acquired Cartier
London in 1974 and Cartier New York in 1976, and in 1979 created Cartier
Monde, combining Cartier's interests in Paris, London and New York. Today
Cartier has opened more branches in places like Beverley Hills, Waikiki,
Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Vancouver.
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