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The
Dresden Green Diamond |
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| Dresden
Green Diamond (in its hat clasp ornament) |
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| In the rough,
greenish diamonds tend to occur as one of three types:
a stone, often a crystal shape, possessing a light tinge
rather like the color of water in a swimming pool; a stone
with a dark green skin; a yellowish-green stone characterized
by a degree if lubricity. After being cut and polished,
diamonds of the first and second types usually lose their
greenish color to become white gems or, alternatively,
light yellow stones known as "silvery capes".
The few truly green faceted diamonds therefore originate
from the third type. The famous collection of De Beers
Fancy Colored Diamonds, which has been displayed throughtout
the world includes some beautiful examples of green diamonds.
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| Since this
is the story of a truly rare gem, a scientific explanation
for the phenomenom of green diamonds is needed. The green
color is usually caused by the crystal's coming into contact
with a radioactive source at some point during its lifetime,
and in geological terms, this is measured in millions
of years. The most common form of irradiation diamonds
chance into is through bombardment by alpha particles
which are present in uranium compounds or percolating
groundwater. Long exposure to these particles forms a
green spot on the surface of the diamond, or sometimes
produces a thin green coating which is only skin deep
and can easily be removed during the faceting process.
But bombardment by beta and gamma rays well as neutrons
will color the stone to a greater depth and in some cases
turn the whole stone's interior green. |
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| Heating the
stone might sometimes improve the color but care must
be taken to keep the temperature below 600°C, because
at this temperature the green color is likely to turn
to a light yellow or brown. The change in color is caused
by the change in the crystal's lattice structure. Before
bombardment by radioactive particles the crystal's lattice
was stable but the initial radioactive shock was sufficient
to disturb the equilibrium and produce a green coloration.
Tempering will distort the lattice further abd produce
another change of color. This phenomena is analogous to
a piece of elastic that has been overstretched; it will
stretch back so far, but never returns to its original
length. Similarly, after a treatment the diamond's lattice
remains permanently distorted. |
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| Research
has disclosed that green or irradiated diamonds are more
common from alluvial deposits, although they are found
in primary sources, usually in the upper part of the diamond-bearing
volanic pipe, but green diamonds of any size are rare.
The Dresden Green, which probably weighed over 100 (old)
carats in its rough form, is unique amoung world famous
diamonds. It was originally probably an elongated unbroken
stone since greenish diamonds rarely occur as cleavages.
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| The Dresden
Green gets its name from the capitol of Saxony where it
has been on display for more than 200 years. The earliest
known reference to its existence occurs in The Post Boy,
a London new-sheet of the 1700's. The issue dated October
25th - 27th, 1722 included this article: |
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| "On
Tuesday last, in the afternoon, one Mr. Marcus Moses,
lately arrived from India, had the honor to wait on his
Majesty [King George I (ruled 1714-27)] with his large
diamond, which is of a fine emerald green colour, and
was with his Majesty near an hour. His Majesty was very
much pleased with the sight thereof. It is said there
never was seen the like in Europe before, being free from
any defect in the world; and he has shown his Majesty
several other fine large diamonds, the like of which 'tis
said were never brought from India before. He was also,
the 25th, to wait on their Royal Highnesses with his large
diamond; and they were surprised to see one of such largeness,
and of such a fine emerald color without the help of a
foil under it. We hear the gentlemen values it at £10,000."
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| Marcus
Moses was an important diamond merchant in London during
the first part of the 18th century - he had once been
involved with the Regent Diamond. |
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| Another
early reference to the Dresden Green is found in a letter
dated from 1726, from Baron Gautier, the "assessor"
at the Geheimes Rath's Collegium in Dresden, to the Polish
ambassador in London, which speaks of the green diamond
being being offered to Frederick Augustus I (1694-1753)
by a London merchant for £30,000. This ruler, known
as Augustus the Strong, was responsible for the construction
of some great buildings in Dresden, which he duly filled
with great collections of rare and expensive treasures
- sculptures, paintings, and objets d'art. He accumulated
a collection of crown jewelsas the ruler of Saxony, and
when he was elected to the throne of Poland in 1697 he
commanded new regalia be made for his coronation. Frederick
Augustus set aside a group of rooms in Dresden Castle
to house his collection of jewels and other treasures,
and named them the Green Vault, their interior decoration
being trusted to Persian designers. The final result was
considered to be one of the finest examples of Baroque.
Nowadays, the contents of the Green Vault is housed in
a contemporary Albertinium Museum, built on the site of
the original castle that was destroyed during World War
II. |
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A
model of the green diamond was owned by the eminent
physicist Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), whose collection
of books, manuscripts and curiosities formed the basis
of the British Museum. When Sloane retired from active
work in 1741 his library and cabinet of curiosities
had grown to be of unique value and on his death he
bequeathed his collection to the nation, on the condition
that Parliament pay his executors £20,000. The
bequest was accepted and went to help form the British
Museum, opened to the public in 1759. |
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Neither George I nor Frederick Augustus I purchased
the green diamond; instead it was the latter's son,
Frederick Augustus II (1733-1763) who became its first
royal owner. He bought the Dresden Green from a Dutch
merchant named Delles, at the Leipzig Fair in 1741.
Various figures are given for the purchase price but
the most interesting was found in a letter to Frederick
the Great, King of Prussia (1712-1786), which states
that "For the seige of Brünn the King of
Poland was asked for heavy artillery. He refused due
to the scarcity of money; he had just spent 400,000
thaler for a large green diamond." On orders
of Frederick Augustus II, the court jeweller, Dinglinger,
set the diamond in the Decoration of the Golden Fleece,
but this setting lasted for only four years and was
broken up in 1746. The king then commissioned the
goldsmith Pallard in Vienna, to design another Golden
Fleece incorporating both the Dresden Green and the
Dresden White, a cushion-shaped diamond weighing 49.71
carats.
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From 1756 to 1763 during the continued
hostilities of the Seven Years War, the contents of
the Green Vault were removed for safety to the fortress
of Königstein, located in southeast Dresden by
the Elba River. Several years after the war, which
saw the defeat of Saxony, Pallard's Golden Fleece
ornament was also broken up. In 1768 another jeweller,
Diessbach, worked the green diamond into a hat clasp
along with two other white brilliants, weighing almost
40 carats total, and a number of smaller diamonds.
The Dresden Green survives in Diessbach's ornament
today.
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In
1806 Saxony became a kingdom and the royal line continued
until 1918 when the last king abdicated. The contents
of the Green Vault remained on display to the public
until the beginning of World War II. In 1942 they were
removed again to Königstein, thus escaping the
shattering air raid by the Allied Forces on the night
of February 13th, 1945 which devasted Dresden. Later
that same year the Soviet Trophies Commission, which
had made its headquarters in Pillnitz Castle near the
center of the ruined city, took the contents of the
Green Vault to Moscow, the Crown jewels being among
the first items to travel there. They were returned
in 1958.
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| The Gemmological
Institute of America examined the stone in 1988. The Dresden
Green Diamond was proved to be not only of extraordinary
quality, but also a rare type IIa diamond. The clarity
grade determined by GIA was VS1 and the gem has the potential
of being internally flawless. (This means that the stone's
flaws are near the outer surface, probably the pavilion
of the stone, where a slight re-cutting could remove them
and improve the clarity of the stone.) The gem measures
29.75 × 19.88 × 10.29mm. Unbelievably, the
GIA graded the symmetry good and the polish very good.
This is amazing for a diamond cut prior to 1741. Also,
the Dresden Green has a natural green body color. This
is extremely rare. Diamonds with green skins or scattered
green patches are more common. |
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| In the
summer of 2000, Ronald Winston completed arrangements
for the Dresden Green to be exhibited in October, 2000,
in the Harry Winston Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution,
alongside the world's most famous diamond – the
Hope. The 40.70-carat Dresden Green – the largest
and finest natural green diamond ever found, has long
been considered a "sister" to the Hope Diamond,
which it closely matches in size, intensity of color,
and historical importance. Friday, October 14th, marked
the official public opening of this remarkable exhibition.
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| It was
the twelve-year quest of Ronald Winston to bring these
two diamonds together. "There is only one other diamond,
the Dresden Green, which comes close to the Hope Diamond
in rarity and uniqueness," said Ronald Winston. "I
always hoped that in my lifetime I would be able to witness
the Hope Diamond and the Dresden Green on exhibit together.
This would have been the crown in my father's 'Court of
Jewels,' an unparalleled collection which toured the country
in the 1950's and included some of the most famous diamonds
in history." |
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| The Dresden
Green remained at the Smithsonian until January of 2001,
when it returned the Albertinium Museum in Dresden, where
it remains to this day. Sources: The Harry Winston website,
Famous Diamonds by Ian Balfour, The Nature of Diamonds
by George E. Harlow, the Gemstone Forecaster, and various
sites scattered around the internet. |
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