Origin of name
The diamond gets its name from Robert Mouawad, the
famous Lebanese gem and jewelry dealer and diamond connoisseur and
collector, who is the head of the international jewelry empire, Mouawad
Jewelers, with a history of 117 years.
Characteristics of the diamond
The diamond is a magnificent emerald-cut, D-color stone,
weighing 108.81 carats, and having an internally flawless clarity grade,
which is the highest clarity grade for diamonds. The dimensions of the stone
are 32.91 x 20.73 x 16.83 mm. The combined characteristics of it's cut,
color and clarity, has made this diamond an exceptional beauty and
collectors item.
The Mouawad Magic is the third largest
emerald-cut and perhaps the 21st largest D-color diamond in the list of
D-color diamonds about which information is available. See table below.
Being a D-color diamond, the Mouawad Magic belongs to the rare class of
diamonds known as Type IIa diamonds, whose occurrence in nature is about
1-2 % of all naturally occurring diamonds. These diamonds are absolutely
colorless, being nitrogen-free and having perfectly formed crystals,
without any distortions. They are said to be the "purest of the pure" of
all diamonds. The presence of nitrogen impurities, and plastic deformation
of crystals are two important factors that affect the color of diamonds.
History
The rough diamond was discovered in the Aredor mine in
Guinea, West Africa, in the year 1991, and weighed 244.6 carats. Guinea
produces a substantial quantity of diamonds, but not as high as it's
neighbors Liberia and Sierra Leone. The diamonds produced in Guinea are
mostly gem quality diamonds, and there has been a boost in production since
1984.
The diamond found it's way to Antwerp, Belgium, the
international power house of the diamond industry, where Robert Mouawad
purchased it in March 1991.
Mouawad entrusted the
cutting and polishing of the diamond to his own company based in Antwerp.
After an extensive study of the rough diamond, followed by a careful and
meticulous planning, the expert craftsmen of the company, transformed the
stone into a magnificent emerald-cut of exceptional clarity, weighing 108.81
carats, making it the fourth largest and the largest of all
his eponymous diamonds, in his rare and magnificent collection of
diamonds.
Robert Mouawad is a Lebanese by nationality,
and the grandson of Daoud Mouawad, who in 1890, founded the Mouawad family
business. Daoud, who had learnt the art of crafting jewelry in New York
and Mexico, established a small jewelry workshop in 1890, in
Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, and a leading commercial city in the
Middle East. Daoud's son, Fayes, who inherited the father's business,
expanded his business activities, by moving to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
in 1950. The shift to Saudi Arabia was a timely move and helped to enhance
the family's business opportunities and capitalize on the growing
affluence of Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries of the Persian
Gulf. Fayez Mouawad was succeeded by his son Robert Mouawad, under whose
stewardship, the family business expanded into Europe, and also
established connections in North America and the Far East, eventually
transforming into a global empire in the world jewelry trade.
Mouawad Jewelers has 16 offices across the globe, 8 factories, and a chain
of showrooms consisting of 16 in the Middle East and 37 in Asia, employing
over 1400 workers. The name of Mouawad backed by 107 years of history, is
synonymous with quality, beauty, and excellent craftsmanship, that had
given soul to a range of products which transcend all boundaries.
The Mouawad family donated 6.8 million dollars to
the Gemological Institute of America, the premier institute for Gemological
Studies in the World, and the international benchmark in the world of
precious stones, with it's enormous contribution in upholding and
maintaining the image of the industry. In recognition of this generous
donation, the main campus of the G.I.A's new world headquarters, Carlsbad,
California, has been named the Robert Mouawad Campus.
The
generous donation was not only a tribute by the three Mouawad brothers,
Fred, Allen, and Pascal, to their father, in recognition of his lifetime
contribution to the industry and the sacrifices he made to build the
company, but also a recognition of the institute's contribution to the
world of Gemology. Two of the brothers studied in this prestigious
institute and are fully aware of the contribution made by the institute in
maintaining the highest standards professionalism in the gem
industry. Part of the funds were used by the G.I.A. in starting a
scholarship program for young gemologists from around the world, to
study at the main campus of the G.I.A.
Robert
Mouawad is not only a world renowned diamond and jewelry dealer, but also a
connoisseur and collector of diamonds. His unique collection of diamonds
include some renowned historic diamonds such as the Indore Pears, the
Ahmedabad, the Queen of Holland, the Tereschenko, the Excelsior, the Vargas,
the Jubilee Diamond and also diamonds of recent origin such as the Premier
Rose, the Taylor-Burton, and several other eponymous diamonds, bearing his
name, such as the Mouawad Magic, the Mouawad Mondera, the Mouawad Lilac etc.
A list of diamonds of the Mouawad's magnificent collection is given in the
table below, together with characteristics such as, weight, cut and color.
Collection of Mouawad's Diamonds arranged in
descending order of carat weights
|
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 |
According to the above list the Mouawad Magic is the 4th
largest and the largest eponymous diamond in the collection.
List of famous white 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 |
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 Mouawad Magic diamond is the 21st largest and the 3rd
largest emerald-cut, D-color diamond in the world.