The cutting and polishing of every rough stone – especially a carat-heavy, exceptional one – is a long, complex and delicate process. When a 299-carat rough is turned into a 132.55-carat diamond, then set in a stunning yellow-diamond necklace called “The Golden Empress” – that story is worth telling.
The story of the exceptional 299-carat rough begins several years ago, when it was unearthed in the Letseng Mine in Lesotho, Africa. The diamond captured the hearts and imagination of the master cutters at Graff, and the British jeweler purchased the diamond.
Graff’s Senior Gemologists then spent long months studying the nuances of the stone. Finally, a plan was devised: the stone would be cut into one large-sized diamond, as well as several additional smaller stones. Graff’s top cutters and polishers then worked carefully to make sure that they add enough facets to let the light in – but not too many that the stone loses its depth of hue. In other words, they needed to make sure they ignite the fire within the stone without letting it lose any of its rare yellow color.
The result is stunning: from the opaque 299-carat rough, a 132.55-carat Fancy Intense cushion cut diamond was born. It was named the Golden Empress. Eight smaller diamonds were also cut: six pear-shaped Fancy Yellow stones (with the largest at 21.34 carats) and two brilliant round stones.
Graff’s designers then set the Golden Empress as the key pendant stone in a stunning yellow-diamond necklace, and added 31 graduated fancy yellow diamonds. While the price is unknown, history tells us it is worth several millions of dollars.
British jeweler Graff Diamonds has a long and respected history of handling exceptional stones, then setting them in jewelry and timepieces. In 1979, Graff acquired “The Idol’s Eye” – the largest known natural blue diamond in the world, weighing 70.21 carats. In 1984, it acquired “The Imperial blue” – a pear shaped 39.31-carat diamond – the largest Flawless fancy Deep Blue Diamond. In 2000, it unveiled “The Sarah” – a 132.43-carat stone – the largest Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond in the world.
In March 2015, Graff launched “The Fascination” – a watch with a removable part that becomes a ring. The $40 million watch consists of 152.96 carats of white diamonds with a center fancy-cut pear shape diamond weighing 38.13-carats. It is this pear-shaped masterpiece that can be worn as a watch dial in a diamond bracelet, or can be taken out and worn as a ring.
In June 2015, Graff made some buzz by recreating its iconic “Hair and Jewel” coiffure from 1970 – an ornate design of diamonds and gems inspired by the royal hair fashions of 18th century Versailles. While Graff’s 1970 promotional shoot featured a million dollars’ worth of precious gems embedded in a woman’s coif, the updated version contained a mind-blowing $500 million worth of the stones. Some of the diamonds used in the new version of the art piece include Graff sweethearts earrings with 50-plus-carat D color Flawless type IIa heart-shaped diamonds, pieces manufactured from the 550-carat Letseng Star, a 10-plus-carat fancy vivid blue internally flawless briolette diamond pendant, a 50-plus-carat fancy vivid yellow emerald-cut diamond ring and a 6.5-carat fancy intense pink internally flawless oval-cut diamond ring.
