Origin of Name
Mouawad Lilac diamond is one of the eight eponymous
diamonds bearing the name Mouawad, derived from the name Robert Mouawad, the
head of the world renowned international gem and jewelry dealers, the
Mouawad Jewelers, established in 1890 by his grandfather Daoud Mouawad.
Robert Mouawad is also a connoisseur and collector of diamonds with a
magnificent collection of famous, historic as well as other rare diamonds.
Characteristics of the stone
The Mouawad Lilac is a 24.44-carat, emerald-cut diamond
with a color grading of fancy pink. It's perhaps the 7th largest pink
diamond in the world. See table below.
List of famous pink diamonds
|
S/No |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Color |
|
1 |
Darya-i-Nur |
186 |
light pink |
|
2 |
Nur-ul-Ain |
60 |
light pink |
|
3 |
Steinmetz pink |
59.60 |
fancy vivid pink |
|
4 |
Shah Jahaan |
56.71 |
light pink |
|
5 |
Agra |
32.34 |
fancy light pink |
|
6 |
Pink Sunrise |
29.79 |
fancy pink |
|
7 |
Mouawad Lilac |
24.44 |
fancy pink |
|
8 |
Graff Pink Orchid |
22.84 |
fancy purplish pink |
|
9 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
fancy pink |
|
10 |
Hortensia |
20.00 |
light orange pink |
|
11 |
Conde Pink |
9.01 |
light pink |
The Mouawad lilac, being a pink diamond, is a Type IIa
diamond. These diamonds are Nitrogen-free, and are supposed to be absolutely
colorless, but plastic deformation in the crystal structure has imparted the
pink color to the diamonds. However the occurrence of these diamonds is much
less than 0.1 % of all naturally occurring diamonds. Thus pink diamonds are
very rare in occurrence. A statistical estimate at the argyle diamond
mines has revealed that only a single carat of pink diamond is produced for
every one million carats of rough diamonds.
History
The early history of the diamond such as the country of
origin, the mine of origin, date of discovery etc. are not known, but the
diamond most probably originated in South Africa, which was the main source
of pink diamonds in the 20th century. The diamond first made it's appearance
on 5th June 1976, at a Sotheby's auction in Zurich, Switzerland, and after a
successful bidding was purchased by Robert Mouawad for 2.700,000 Swiss
francs, equivalent to US $ 1, 088,710. The current estimated value of the
stone is US $ 20 million. Robert Mouawad has added the stone to his rare and
unique collection of historic and rare diamonds.
Robert Mouwad's collection of diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
carat weight |
color |
Shape/Cut |
|
1 |
Jubilee |
245.35 |
D-color |
cushion |
|
2 |
Premier rose |
137.02 |
D-color |
pear |
|
3 |
Queen of Holland |
135.92 |
D-color |
cushion |
|
4 |
Mouawad Magic |
108.81 |
D-color |
emerald |
|
5 |
Unnamed |
106.00 |
|
modified pear |
|
6 |
Mouawad Monolith |
104.02 |
|
emerald |
|
7 |
Mouawad Splendor |
101.84 |
D-color |
pear |
|
8 |
Ahmedabad |
78.86 |
D-color |
pear |
|
9 |
Excelsior I |
69.68 |
D-color |
pear |
|
10 |
Taylor-Burton |
68.07 |
D-color |
pear |
|
11 |
Mouawad Mondera |
60.19 |
D-color |
pear |
|
12 |
Star of Abdul Aziz |
59.00 |
D-color |
pear |
|
13 |
Mouawad White |
48.28 |
D-color |
marquise |
|
14 |
Indore Pears I |
46.95 |
D-color |
pear |
|
15 |
Indore Pears II |
46.70 |
D-color |
pear |
|
16 |
President Vargas |
44.17 |
|
emerald |
|
17 |
Mouawad Blue |
42.92 |
fancy blue |
pear |
|
18 |
Mouawad Lilac |
24.44 |
fancy pink |
emerald |
|
19 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
fancy pink |
radiant |
In terms of carat weight the Mouawad Lilac occupies the
18th position in the above table, but is only one of two rare pink diamonds
in the collection. Except for the Darya-i-Nur which weighs 186 carats, all
other pink diamonds in the world are less than 100 carats in weight. In
spite of it's relatively smaller weight of 24.44 carats, the Mouawad Lilac
is the 7th largest pink diamond in the world.
List of Mouawad eponymous diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
Color |
|
1 |
Mouawad Magic |
108.81 |
emerald |
D-color |
|
2 |
Mouawad Monolith |
104.02 |
emerald |
|
|
3 |
Mouawad Splendor |
101.84 |
pear |
D-color |
|
4 |
Mouawad Mondera |
60.19 |
pear |
D-color |
|
5 |
Mouawad white |
48.28 |
marquise |
D-color |
|
6 |
Mouawad blue |
42.92 |
pear |
fancy blue |
|
7 |
Mouawad Lilac |
24.44 |
emarald |
fancy pink |
|
8 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
radiant |
fancy pink |
The Mouawad Lilac is the 7th largest eponymous diamond in
the Mouawad's collection of diamonds.
Robert Mouawad,
first showed an interest in international jewelry auctions in the 1970s.
His entry into the jewelry auctions was a welcome development for the
auctioneers and auction houses, but perhaps a source of concern for fellow
bidders and competitors. His very presence in the sales room was enough
cause for anxiety among fellow bidders. He became a significant player at
these auctions, and together with his contemporaries, Laurence Graff of
London, and Sheik Ahmed Fitaihi of Jeddah, was responsible for some of the
highest prices for diamonds recorded at these auctions, in recent years.
His initial interest was in the purchase of historical and world famous
diamonds. Thus he was able to acquire the following historical diamonds at
various auctions :- the Ahmedabad, the Indore Pears, Queen of Holland,
Tereschenko, the Jubilee, the Excelsior, and President Vargas.
Later he diverted his attention towards the acquisition
of rare colored, modern cut diamonds of recent origin. Most of these
diamonds became eponymous diamonds starting with the name Mouawad. There are
eight eponymous diamonds in Robert Mouawad's rare and magnificent collection
of diamonds.
