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Premier Rose Diamond |
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| This
stone weighs 137.02 carats and is one of the largest D-color
Flawless diamonds in the world. In March 1978 the Premier
Mine in South Africa, the mine that produced the 3106-carat
Cullinan Diamond, yielded yet another remarkable diamond,
a triangular-shaped cleavage of the finest color, weighing
353.9 carats. Like an earlier gem found at the Premier,
the Niarchos, this one too traveled right through the
various stages of mining recovery only to emerge at the
final one, the grease table in the recovery plant. |
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| For reasons
of security, the news of the finding of the diamond
was not released for two months. After it had been
disclosed, the press quickly began speculating about
possible destinations for the eventual polished
gem. Prince Rainier of Monaco was obliged to deny
reports that he was planning to buy it as a wedding
present for his daughter, Princess Caroline, who
was getting married soon; another European royal
family was rumored to be interested; Emperor Bokassa
of the Central African Empire, who had already spent
£20,000,000 on his coronation, was said to
have made an offer. In the end the Johannesburg
firm Mouw Diamond Cutting Works purchased it, naming
it after Mrs. Rose Mouw. |
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| The Mouws
then contacted their American partner, William Goldberg,
who promptly purchased a share in the diamond. When he
set eyes upon it, Mr. Goldberg exclaimed, "A lot
of people are going to be interested -- this is an unusually
exciting diamond." |
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| The cutting
was carried out in South Africa and produced three gems
which became known as members of the Premier Rose family.
The largest, which has retained the name Premier Rose,
is a pear shape weighing 137.02 carats, cut with 189 facets
(most of which I believe are around the edge of the stone
-- I think it is a standard pear shape with a faceted
girdle) and measuring approximately 43.40 by 23.20 by
18.93 mm. It was submitted to the Gemological Institute
of America for certification where it received a D-color
and Flawless clarity grade. It took 385 hours to cut,
which due to the size of the finished stone is fairly
quick -- the time amounts to about 16 straight days. At
the time it was then the largest stone of this caliber
to have been certified by the GIA. The weight of the Premier
Rose makes it the fifth largest pear-shaped diamond in
existence: the Star of Africa being the first at 530.20
carats, the Millennium Star being the second at 203.04
carats, William Goldberg's unnamed 200.87-carat golden
yellow pear being third, and the brownish-yellow Star
of Peace at 170.49 carats being the fourth. |
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| The William
Goldberg Diamond Corporation of New York handled the
sale of the gems. The Premier Rose was sold in 1979
to an anonymous buyer for about $10,000,000; the sale
of the two smaller diamonds followed shortly after.
Recently, Robert Mouawad has added the Premier Rose
to his great collection of important diamonds. The stone
is now valued at over $10,000,000. |
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