Origin of name
The Vainer Briolette gets its name from the onetime
owners of the diamond Messrs M. Vainer Limited, gem and jewelry dealers of
London, who purchased the diamond in 1984, and subsequently got it
transformed by their own master cutters in London, to its traditional
briolette shape, one of the oldest diamond cuts known in the history of the
gem and jewelry industry, and developed in India at least eight centuries
ago.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The diamond is a 116.60-carat, briolette-shaped stone
with a fancy light yellow color and an unknown clarity grade. The diamond
has 192 facets and has been certified by the GIA as having perfect polish
and symmetry, a well earned distinction for the relatively small diamond
cutting industry of London, in comparison to the well established and
internationally renowned diamond cutting centers of Antwerp and
Amsterdam.
The Vainer Briolette diamond is the second largest
diamond ever to be faceted in London after the faceting of the 140.64-carat
Regent Diamond by the master cutter Harris in 1704. It is also said that the
Vainer Briolette is the second largest briolette-cut diamond in the world
after the 180.85-carat, unnamed, yellow, briolette-shaped diamond belonging
to an anonymous owner. In the list of known yellow diamonds greater than 100
carats in weight, the Vainer Briolette occupies the 18th position, while the
unnamed, 180.85-carat briolette occupies the 7th position. The list also
shows that the third largest briolette-cut diamond, also unnamed, and
weighing 114.64 carats occupies the 19th position. See table below.
List of Famous yellow
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
Color |
|
1 |
Incomparable |
407.48 |
shield shaped |
fancy brownish yellow |
|
2 |
Oppenheimer-uncut |
253.70 |
natural octahedral |
yellow |
|
3 |
De Beers |
234.65 |
cushion |
light yellow |
|
4 |
Red Cross |
205.07 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
5 |
unnamed |
200.87 |
pear |
yellow |
|
6 |
Moon |
183.00 |
round |
pale yellow |
|
7 |
unnamed |
180.85 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
8 |
Star of Peace |
170.49 |
pear |
brownish yellow |
|
9 |
Hope of Africa |
151.91 |
cushion |
fancy yellow |
|
10 |
Unnamed |
150.00 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
11 |
Florentine |
137.27 |
double rose cut |
light yellow |
|
12 |
Algeiba Star |
135.03 |
square brilliant |
yellow |
|
13 |
Sarah |
132.43 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
14 |
Golden Hue |
132.42 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
15 |
Tiffany Yellow |
128.54 |
cushion |
canary yellow |
|
16 |
Stewart |
123.00 |
brilliant |
yellow |
|
17 |
Meister |
118.00 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
18 |
Vainer Briolette |
116.60 |
briolette |
fancy light yellow |
|
19 |
Unnamed |
114.64 |
briolette |
yellow |
|
20 |
Unnamed |
114.03 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
21 |
Mouna |
112.50 |
cushion |
fancy intense yellow |
|
22 |
African Yellow |
112.00 |
- |
yellow |
|
23 |
Anon |
108.04 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
24 |
Rojtman |
107.46 |
cushion |
yellow |
|
25 |
Golden Sun |
105.54 |
emerald |
yellow |
|
26 |
Golden Door |
104.95 |
pear |
yellow |
|
27 |
Alnatt |
101.29 |
cushion |
fancy vivid yellow |
|
28 |
Sunrise |
100.52 |
emerald |
yellow |
Being a light yellow diamond the Vainer briolette is
undoubtedly a Type Ia diamond, where the pale yellow color is caused by
aggregates of three nitrogen atoms, known as N3 centers. Aggregates of 2
atoms and 4 atoms known respectively as A-aggregates and B-aggregates are
also present but do not affect the color of the diamond. Thus the diamond
belongs to the sub-type IaAB. The intensity of the yellow color increases
with the increase in N3 centers, up to a maximum of medium yellow. Almost 98
% of natural diamonds belong to this group.
If the color of the diamond is fancy intense or fancy
vivid yellow, the diamond belongs to Type Ib, in which the intense yellow
color is produced by single nitrogen atoms scattered throughout the crystal.
The canary yellow diamonds belong to this group. However such diamonds are
scarce and constitute only about 0.1 % of all naturally occurring diamonds.
History
The early history of the diamond such as the country of
origin, mine of origin, the original owners of the diamond, etc. are not
known, but the rough diamond weighing 202.85 carats was discovered in 1984.
In all probability the diamond must have originated in South Africa which is
renowned for its Cape series of yellow and brown diamonds. The rough diamond
was a yellowish, octahedral shaped crystal, and purchased by M. Vainer
Limited in 1984.
After a careful study of the stone, the master cutter of
the company Michael Gould recommended that the stone be cut into a
briolette, which appeared to be the most appropriated shape that would fit
an octahedral shaped crystal. The owner of the company Milosh Vainer
accepted the suggestion, and work began in transforming the diamond to a
briolette shape. When the faceting was completed the stone weighed 116.60
carats, with a loss of weight of only 86.25 carats, which is equivalent to
42 %. In addition the rough stone also produced five other smaller diamonds,
with a total weight of 14.93 carats. Thus the actual loss of weight is only
71.32 carats, which is equivalent to 35 %. The relatively small loss of
weight compared to average normal losses, is a clear indication of the
quality of the rough diamond.
The most famous of all the briolettes is the "Briolette
of India" which has a weight of 90.38 carats, and which is perhaps the
oldest diamond on record in the world, even older than the famous Koh-i-Noor
diamond, with a history dating back to the middle ages between 1122 and
1200. The diamond which originated in India and was also cut in India,
eventually reached France and was acquired by Eleanor of Aquitaine, sometime
between 1137 and 1152. Eleanor of Aquitaine was the Queen Consort of King
Louis VII of France and later King Henry II of England. The diamond was then
inherited by Richard the Lion Heart, third son of Eleanor and Henry II.
Richard the Lion Heart is said to have carried the diamond, when he took
part in the third crusade between 1189 and 1192. The diamond then
disappeared for three centuries and re-appeared only during the time of King
Henry II of France between 1547 to 1559. Henry II presented the diamond to
his mistress Diana de Poitiers, who can be seen wearing the diamond in one
of her many portraits. After Henry II's death his Queen Consort, Catherine
de Medicis forcibly took the diamond away from Diana de Poitiers. After this
the diamond again disappeared for another four centuries and re-appeared
only in 1950, when it was acquired by Harry Winston, from an Indian
Maharajah. The diamond is now in the possession of a titled European Family.
The Briolette is an 800-year old cut, whose popularity
has waxed and waned during this long period. Its recent popularity was in
the 18th and 19th centuries in France and late 19th and early 20th centuries
in other countries. In America briolettes were quite popular in the 1930s.
In 1811 Napoleon Bonaparte presented a 275-carat diamond briolette necklace
to Empress consort Marie Louise, to celebrate the birth of their son.
The Gemological Institute of America defines the
briolette as a pear or drop-shaped gemstone having its entire surface
covered with small triangular facets. The briolette is considered as a
modified double-rose cut, with a pointed tip and a rounded bottom and
several rows of facets in between. Unlike conventional cut diamonds with a
table, crown and pavilion, whose beauty can be appreciated only through the
side of the table facet, the beauty of briolettes can be appreciated from
all sides. But briolettes lack the brilliance of a conventional cut diamond,
as most of the light entering the stone is lost by refraction from the
opposite side. They are more suitable for pendants and ear-rings, because
they dangle and catch the light. In such jewelry the briolette is also free
of any setting except at the top, allowing one to see more of the gem than
with traditional cuts.
The briolette-cut that became very popular during the
Victorian era, is now having a resurgence again, not so much for diamonds,
but for other precious and semi-precious stones. Virtually any gemstone can
be cut as a briolette, and briolette pendants and earrings made of gemstones
like tourmalines, sapphires, aquamarines, amethysts etc. are becoming
increasingly popular.
