Characteristics of the diamond
The diamond is a 59.60-carat, cushion-cut, fancy vivid
pink stone with a clarity grade of internally flawless (FL). A unique
feature of the diamond is the step-cut crown and the brilliant-cut pavilion.
The combination of color, clarity, and size makes this diamond an extremely
rare and unique diamond. In terms of weight it is the third largest pink
diamond in the world, the first and second places being occupied by
the Darya-i-Nur, and the Nur-ul-Ain respectively. In terms of color grading
it is the largest fancy vivid pink diamond in the world.
History
Being a relatively new diamond, unveiled to the world as
recently as year 2003, the diamond does not have much of a history
associated with it, but it is hoped that the diamond will build up
it's own myths and legends as time passes by.
The Steinmetz Pink, most probably originated in Southern
Africa, but the mine of origin is unknown. The rough stone is believed to
have weighed around 100 carats, but other information such as the date of
discovery, the circumstances of the discovery, etc. are all unknown.
The diamond of course was cut by the master cutters of
the Steinmetz Group, and undoubtedly the Group ranks as one of
the best diamond cutting companies in the world. The Steinmetz Group was
involved in the cutting of the renowned Millennium Star and Heart of
Eternity diamonds, two stones that originated from the same 777-carat rough
stone discovered in Zaire in 1990. They were also involved in the
cutting of all the De Beers Company, limited edition, Millennium diamonds
collection which consisted of 11 extremely rare blue diamonds, besides the
D-color Millennium Star, and was exhibited at the Millennium Dome throughout
the Millennium year 2000. The company is also credited with the
cutting of the 100.10-carat D-color flawless, "Star of the Season" diamond,
that was sold by Sotheby's in 1995 for a record price of $16.5 million, to
Sheik Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi of Saudi Arabia, which represents the highest
price paid for any diamond in the world at an auction.
In the cutting of the Steinmetz Pink, the master
cutters of the Steinmetz Group, took extra precautions given the extreme
rarity and the value of the diamond. A team of eight cutters working on the
diamond took almost 20 months to complete the process of cutting and
polishing, an indication of the extra care taken in handling this valuable
diamond. It is said that more than 50 models of the diamond were made before
the actual cutting took place. Another unique feature about the cut of this
diamond is the step-cut crown and the brilliant-cut pavilion. the overall
shape of the diamond was oval. The finished diamond was unveiled in Monaco
on May 29,2003, at a public ceremony, and was briefly worn around the neck
of super-model Helena Christensen.
In the year 2003 the Steinmetz Pink was part of the
"Splendor of diamonds" Exhibition held at the Smithsonian Institution, in
Washington D.C. between June 27th and September 30th, that also featured
other famous diamonds such as the Millennium Star, the Alnatt diamond, the
Pumpkin diamond, the Heart of Eternity, the Ocean Dream, and the Moussaieff
Red.
Again in the year 2005, the Steinmetz Pink was part of
the "diamonds" exhibition, also held at the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington D.C. between 8th July 2005 and 26th February 2006, that featured
a star line-up of eight of the world's most incredible diamonds displayed
together for the first time . This included the De Beers Millennium Star.
the Steinmetz Pink, the Incomparable, The Ocean Dream, The Moussaieff Red,
the Heart of Eternity, the Alnatt, and the 616 (an uncut, unnamed, rough
diamond), The exhibition also included the Eureka, the Shah Jahaan and the
Aurora Collection, a set of 296 naturally colored diamonds, totally a
staggering 267.45 carats.
The Steinmetz Group has seven decades of experience in
the diamond industry. They are involved in all aspects of the industry, such
as mining, cutting, polishing, and the manufacture and marketing of high-end
diamond jewelry. Recently the group acquired 65% of the shares in the Sierra
Leone Diamond Mining Company, that owns and operates the Koidu Kimberlite
diamond mine and Tongo Fields exploration area in Sierra Leone. The
remaining interest is held by Magma Diamond Resources Ltd, which is also
part of the Steinmetz Group. As a part of it's unique marketing strategy the
group has promoted the glamour of diamonds at various international events
such as the Oscars, the Baftas, the Monaco Grand Prix, and exhibitions held
at the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and the
Natural History Museum in London. The Steinmetz Group is also involved in
joint ventures with other renowned companies. In the year 2005 , the
Steinmetz Group established a joint venture with the international jewelry
auction house Sotheby's , known as "Sotheby's Diamonds" offering the rarest
and most desirable diamonds in the world and exquisite diamond Jewelry. The
first jewelry collection of this joint venture company was unveiled in New
York and Hong Kong in December 2005.
Last transaction and
present owners of the diamond
The Steinmetz Pink diamond still remains the property of
the Steinmetz Group of Companies the original owners of the diamond. There
have been no reports of any change in ownership of the diamond since it was
unveiled in the year 2003.
Occurrence of pink
diamonds
Pink diamonds are also extremely rare like red or purple
diamonds, but in terms of size pink diamonds, are much bigger than red
diamonds. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd largest pink diamonds in the world, the
Darya-i-Nur, the Nur-ul-Ain and the Steinmetz Pink are respectively 186
carats, 60 carats, and 59.60 carats in weight respectively. In comparison
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd largest red diamonds in the world, the Moussaieff Red,
the "Red Diamond" and the "De Young Red" weigh only 5.11, 5.05, 5.03 carats
respectively. Thus in red diamonds, rarity seems to be combined with reduced
size.
The only source of pink diamonds in the world prior to
the 18th century, was the Kollur Mines near Golconda, in Andhra Pradesh,
southern India. The Darya-i-Nur, The Nur-ul-Ain, the Conde Pink, the
Hortensia, and the Shah Jahan, all famous and historic pink diamonds,
originated in the Kollur mines of southern India.
After the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in
the late 19th century, the diamond mines in South Africa, became the only
source of pink diamonds in the world. The world's largest fancy vivid pink
diamond, the Steinmetz Pink, was discovered in the diamond mines of South
Africa. Likewise the Mouawad Pink and the Mouawad Lilac might also have
originated in the diamond mines of South Africa. But today, the
world's main source of pink and red diamonds is the Argyle diamond Mines in
western Australia. The pink diamonds produced in the Argyle mines are small
and have an average weight of about 1.0 carat. They are also extremely
scarce. The frequency of production is 1.0 carat of pink diamonds for every
1,000,000 carats of rough diamonds. This works out to a percentage of 0.0001
% of the total production. However in spite of it's scarcity the Argyle
mines have become a consistent source of pink diamonds in the world as
the annual production of pink diamonds is about 50 carats. The exceptional
pink and other colored diamonds are sold each year at special auctions known
as "tenders", held in major cities around the world such as New York,
Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Geneva. Prices of over $100,000 per
carat have been achieved for the rare pink diamonds.
Chemistry of pink
diamonds
Pink diamonds are type 11 diamonds that do not contain
any detectable quantities of Nitrogen. Type 11 diamonds are sub-divided into
two:- type 11a and type 11b.
Type 11a diamonds do not contain any impurities such as
Nitrogen or Boron in their crystal structure, and therefore are absolutely
colorless. Such diamonds constitute about 1-2% of all naturally occurring
diamonds. However some type 11a diamonds can undergo plastic deformation
while rising up to the surface of the earth from the earth's mantle along
Kimberlite and Lamproite pipes. Such structurally deformed crystals can
absorb light in different regions of the spectrum giving rise to rare colors
such as pink, red, Purple, orange etc. Thus pink color in diamonds is caused
by structural anomalies in the crystal structure of colorless diamonds.
List of Famous pink
diamonds
|
S/N |
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 pjnk |
|
9 |
Mouawad Pink |
21.06 |
fancy pink |
|
10 |
Hortensia |
20.00 |
light orange pink |
|
11 |
Conde Pink |
9.01 |
light pink |
The Steinmetz Pink is the largest fancy vivid pink and
the 3rd largest pink diamond in the world.
