Origin of name
The Sarah diamond is associated with the name of Graff,
which symbolizes rarity, beauty, excellence and above all the best
quality and craftsmanship in jewels and jewelry. The origin of the name
Sarah for the diamond is not known, but the diamond was handled by the "King
of Diamonds" Laurence Graff, who is said to have handled more important
gem-quality diamonds, than any other living dealer.
Characteristics of the
stone
According to the certificate issued by the Gemological
Institute of America, on Dec. 12th, 2000, the diamond is a cushion-cut,
132.43-carat. natural fancy vivid yellow stone, with a clarity of VS I. The
G. I. A. also states that the Sarah is the largest natural color fancy vivid
yellow diamond ever graded by them. According to the list of famous yellow
diamonds for which details of characteristics are available, the Sarah is
the 6th largest yellow diamond, and the largest fancy vivid yellow diamond
in the world. The Sarah therefore surpasses in weight the Alnatt diamond,
which was previously the largest fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world.
Fancy vivid grade is a high color grade for colored diamonds but less than
fancy deep or fancy dark.
Being a yellow diamond, the Sarah is a type I diamond,
which constitutes 98 % of all naturally occurring diamonds. The yellow color
in diamonds is caused by trace quantities of Nitrogen (less than 0.1 %) in
the diamond crystal. The intensity of the yellow color depends on the
concentration and distribution of the Nitrogen atoms. If the Nitrogen atoms
are scattered as single atoms in the crystal structure, they absorb light in
the blue end of the visible spectrum producing an intense yellow color.
These diamonds are known as type Ib diamonds, which constitute only about
o.1 % of natural diamonds. The canary yellow color belongs to this group and
possibly also the fancy intense and vivid yellow colors.
History
The diamond is a relatively new discovery and therefore
does not have much of a history associated with it. The Sarah diamond is of
South African Origin, but the mine of origin is not known. The rough diamond
weighed 218 carats, and was a beautifully formed natural octahedral crystal,
like the rough Oppenheimer Diamond. Naturally formed diamond crystals
usually take an octahedral shape and sometimes a dodecahedron. Even in it's
rough state, the diamond was showing a fire and brilliance caused by the
reflection and refraction of light from it's naturally formed smooth crystal
facets. In this respect the rough diamond was a very unique stone.
Other details such as the date of discovery of the
diamond, the original owners of the diamond, and the date of purchase by
Graff, if they were not the original owners, are all conspicuously lacking.
Graff diamonds, a world leader in the diamond industry is involved in all
aspects of the industry, such as mining, cutting, polishing, and the
manufacture of exquisite and fine diamond jewelry. In South Africa, Graff
has a subsidiary company known as the South African Diamond Corporation,
which is engaged in mining operations. Besides this, in Johannesburg, South
Africa, Graff has one of the largest state-of-the-art diamond processing
factories in the world, employing over 300 expert craftsmen. It is reported
that tens of thousands of diamonds weighing thousands of carats are cut and
polished in this factory every year.
Graff has two specialized centers in the world for the
cutting and polishing of large rough stones, that one day might eventually
become notable and famous. These centers are situated in Antwerp and
New York. The Antwerp workshop is manned by a well trained and highly
experienced team of 30 experts, who handle each stone, individually and
after prolonged and meticulous planning , decide on the most appropriate
shape, size and finish that would bring out the full potential of the stone.
The New York workshop is manned by a team of 10 highly
experienced cutters, headed by a master cutter. This factory has cut and
polished, several of the world's notable diamonds including the 101-carat
"Golden Star" diamond. The "Sarah Diamond" being an exceptionally large
rough diamond, weighing 218 carats, would probably have been cut in one of
the two specialized centers of Graff, dealing on large diamonds.
From the natural octahedral shape of the rough stone to
the almost cubic cushion shape of the finished diamond, is a relatively easy
transformation, and was achieved by the masters cutters of Graff with the
minimum of wastage. The 218-carat rough diamond after a cutting and
polishing process that lasted nearly 4 months was transformed into a
cushion-cut of 132.43 carat finished diamond of extraordinary brilliance
with only a loss of weight of 39 %. The pavilion of the cushion-cut diamond
is radiant-cut, giving the stone it's unusual brilliance.
Among the list of famous diamonds that had the privilege
of receiving the unique and magical touch of Graff's expertise are the
Golden Star diamond, the Paragon, Idol's Eye, Porter Rhodes, Golconda D, the
Maximilian, the Graff Asscher-cut, etc.
List of famous yellow
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
carat weight |
shape/cut |
color |
|
1 |
Incomparable |
407.48 |
fancy brownish yellow |
shield shaped |
|
2 |
Oppenheimer |
253.70 |
yellow |
natural octahedral |
|
3 |
De Beers |
234.65 |
light yellow |
cushion |
|
4 |
Red Cross |
205.07 |
canary yellow |
cushion |
|
5 |
Florentine |
137.27 |
pale yellow |
double rose cut |
|
6 |
Sarah |
132.43 |
fancy vivid yellow |
cushion |
|
7 |
Tiffany Yellow |
128.54 |
canary yellow |
cushion |
|
8 |
Vainer Briolette |
116.60 |
fancy light yellow |
briolette |
|
9 |
Mouna |
112.53 |
fancy intense yellow |
cushion |
|
10 |
Alnatt |
101.29 |
Fancy vivid yellow |
cushion |
