Antique Jewelry
What Gives a Natural Fancy Colored Diamond its Color?
The chemical structure, natural radiation or intense pressure during millions of years of a diamond’s formation creates its color. Simply stated, nitrogen creates a yellow or orange diamond. Boron creates a light or deep blue diamond. Natural radiation creates a green colored diamond. Intense pressure creates a pink, red or brown diamond and hydrogen produces a purple diamond.The Mossaieff Red diamond was created by intense pressure. It was discovered in...
Demantoid Garnet
The demantoid garnet belongs to the large garnet family that is known for its dark red color. Not only is the demantoid garnet the most expensive in the garnet group, it is also one of the most precious of all gemstones and it is green. Demantoid garnets come in varying shades of green from slightly yellowish green to brownish green to a blue green. The most precious garnet is a...
The Idol’s Eye Diamond
The Idol’s Eye diamond weighs 70.21 carats and is described as a “blue white Golconda diamond”. Golconda is a mine in India known for its colorless and inclusion free diamonds. These diamonds are so rare that they would today probably only be seen at a Christie’s or another well-known auction house. The Idol’s Eye diamond is shaped like a combination old mine cut and triangular brilliant possessing a “slight bluish...
The Centenary Diamond
On March 11, 1988, the Centenary celebration of the DeBeers Company was being held in Kimberly Western Australia, to commemorate the closing of the “Big Hole”, the Kimberly Mine. A speech was given to celebrate the day and to announce, surprisingly, the find of a 599 carat diamond of top color having been found in the Premier Mine in South Africa. Dignitaries and representatives from national governments and the diamond...