Origin of name
The name Victoria Transvaal seems to reflect both the
place of origin of the stone as well as the name of its owner. The diamond
was discovered in the Transvaal area of South Africa in 1951, and originally
came to be known as the Transvaal diamond. The diamond was subsequently
purchased by Leonard Wilkinson, the timber baron of northwestern United
States, who presented it to his wife Victoria Wilkinson, set in a special
necklace designed by Baumgold Brothers Inc. The name Victoria was added to
the diamond, just before it was presented to the Smithsonian Institution in
1977, by Leonard and Victoria Wilkinson, still attached as a dazzling
pendant to the same diamond and gold necklace.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Victoria Transvaal diamond is a champagne colored,
pear-shaped stone, weighing 67.89 carats. The term champagne refers to a
light to medium brown color.
In the list of famous brown diamonds given below
the Victoria Transvaal diamond occupies the 6th position.
List of some famous brown
diamonds
|
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
color |
|
1 |
Golden Jubilee |
545.67 |
cushion |
fancy yellow brown |
|
2 |
Star of the South |
128.48 |
cushion |
fancy light pinkish brown |
|
3 |
Earth Star |
111.59 |
pear |
brown |
|
4 |
Cross of Asia |
109.26 |
radiant |
light brown |
|
5 |
Great Chrysanthemum |
104.16 |
pear |
fancy brown |
|
6 |
Victoria Transvaal |
67.89 |
pear |
champagne-light brown |
|
7 |
Golden Maharajah |
65.57 |
pear |
fancy dark orange brown |
|
8 |
Kimberley |
55.09 |
emerald |
light brown |
Being a brown diamond the Victoria Transvaal diamond is a
Type IIa diamond, in which the color is caused not by impurities but by
plastically distorted areas in the crystal, which were formed by the
twisting and bending of the crystal units during its formation in the
earth's mantle, or subsequent rise to the surface of the earth along
Kimberlite and Lamproite pipes. The plastically distorted areas change the
absorption spectrum of the stone that imparts the brown color to the
diamond.
History
The rough diamond was discovered in 1951 in the Transvaal
area of South Africa, the same area where one of the most prolific diamond
producing mines in the world, the Premier diamond mines are situated. The
rough diamond is believed to have weighed 240 carats. Besides this, other
aspects of the early history of the diamond such as the circumstances of the
discovery, the original owners of the diamond, the identity of the cutters
of the stone, etc. are not known. In all probability the diamond must have
been an alluvial diamond, discovered by one of the many diamond diggers who
were active in the area at the time.
The 240-carat rough diamond was initially cut into a
75-carat pear-shaped diamond with a drastic loss of 165 carats, but the
pavilion of this stone was a little deeper resulting in a loss of
brilliance. The stone was again re-cut making the pavilion a little
shallower and the brilliance of the diamond improved tremendously. The final
weight of the stone was 67.89 carats. No information is available as to the
person or company that owned the diamond and the persons involved in the
cutting. But it is said that the diamond traveled around the United States
for a number of years, as the Transvaal diamond, perhaps as part of an
exhibition.
The diamond was then purchased by Leonard Wilkinson, a
timber baron in the northwestern part of the United States, who assigned the
jewelry firm Baumgold Brothers Inc. to set it in a necklace of appropriate
design. The company turned out an exquisitely designed necklace consisting
of a gold chain, set with 66 round brilliant-cut diamonds, with the dazzling
Victoria Transvaal diamond hanging as a pendant. On either side of the
pendant five drop motifs were also included, each consisting of four
diamonds with a pear-shaped diamond below, surmounted by two marquise-cut
diamonds on either side, and a small round brilliant-cut at the top. Thus
the ten drop motifs consisted of 40 diamonds, which together with the 66
round brilliants made a total of 106 diamonds, having a total weight of 45
carats. Leonard Wilkinson presented the necklace to his wife Victoria
Wilkinson, from whom the diamond derives part of its name.
An interesting fact about this diamond is that the owners
of the diamond adopted a novel strategy in 1952, in the marketing of the
diamond. The diamond was featured in a popular Tarzan movie of 1952,
starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, and Dorothy Hart as Jane. Dorothy Hart
appears in a scene towards the end of the film wearing the Victoria
Transvaal diamond. The title of the Tarzan episode was "Tarzan's Savage
Fury."
Finally in 1977, Leonard and Victoria Wilkinson decided
to donate the Victoria Transvaal diamond, together with the exquisitely
crafted necklace to the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian
Institution, at Washington DC. Today the Victoria Transvaal necklace is one
of the prized possessions of the Institution.
Other notable diamonds in
the Smithsonian Gem and Mineral collection
1) Smithsonian canary diamond mounted in a ring.
2) The 44.5-carat, famous and historic Hope diamond of
Indian origin, the largest blue diamond in the world.
3) The 127.01-carat, colorless Portuguese diamond of
South African origin, the largest faceted diamond in the collection.
4) The 5.03-carat de Young red diamond, the 3rd largest
red diamond in the world.
5) The 3.0-carat de Young pink diamond, exhibited side by
side with the de Young red diamond.
6) The 37-carat cognac-colored diamond donated by Libbie
Moody Thompson.
7) The 254-carat Oppenheimer diamond, of South African
origin, preserved in its natural Octahedral crystalline shape.
8) The 30.62-carat Blue Heart diamond of South African
origin, the 5th largest blue diamond in the world, and donated to the
Institution by Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Among the famous diamond-studded jewelry in the
Smithsonian collection are :-
1) Empress Marie Louise's crown - This was the crown
given by Napoleon I to his consort Empress Marie Louise. It is set with 950
diamonds weighing 700 carats. However the 79 original emeralds have been
replaced with Persian turquoise cabochons.
2) Marie Antoinette earrings - A pair of earrings set
with large diamond drops, that belonged to Marie Antoinette, consort of King
Louis XVI, seized from her when she was arrested fleeing the French
revolution.
3) Napoleon I diamond necklace - A 275-carat diamond
necklace presented to Empress Marie Louise by Napoleon I in 1811, to
celebrate the birth of their son, the future King of Rome Napoleon Francois
Charles Joseph.
4) The Spanish Inquisition necklace - A diamond and
emerald necklace belonging to the Spanish Inquisition period.
5) The Hooker diamonds - A suite of beautiful yellow
diamonds consisting of a necklace, a pair of earrings and a ring. The
necklace has 240 carats of yellow diamonds. Each earring has a 25-carat
yellow diamond. and the ring has a 61-carat yellow diamond.
