A Historical Glimpse into the Tiffany Diamond
There are only a handful of gems in the world that garner such attention and awe-inspiring ardor and one of them is the famous Tiffany Diamond. It is perhaps one of the largest yellow diamonds ever found and it was a massive 287 carats in its rough state. Found in the prolific Kimberly mine in South Africa in 1878, famed jeweler Charles Tiffany from New York purchased it for his store collection.
Shaping it
The Tiffany Diamond today is just over 128 carats after it was cut into its present cushion shape by George Kunz, a famous gemologist who worked for Charles Tiffany. Because of its unique color and size, Mr. Kunz took more than a year just to study the stone before deciding on the best way to cut it. Given Kunz was rather young at the time, only 23 years of age, made the Tiffany Diamond even more prominent in the gem world.
There are 82 different facets cut into the Tiffany Diamond which is 24 more than the average brilliant cut white diamond. The many cut facets were purposeful and they brought out the fire in this yellow diamond, an effect designed to make it sparkle to its maximum effect. After the acquisition of this rare yellow diamond, Charles Tiffany earned a special title - the King of Diamonds.
Who Wore it
The Tiffany Diamond was not really fashioned to be worn but rather to be put on display and admired, mainly because of its sheer brilliance and price tag. However, two people did make history when they wore this famous yellow diamond - socialite Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse, and famous actress Audrey Hepburn.
Mrs. Whitehouse wore the Tiffany Diamond to the Tiffany Ball in 1957 and it was mounted in a necklace especially for the occasion. Audrey Hepburn wore the diamond for a special publicity campaign which advertised not only the Tiffany & Company jewelry store but also the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's." In this instance, Jean Shclumberger, a designer for Tiffany & Company, designed it into a brooch called "Bird on a Rock," a design unchanged today.
The Diamond Today
The Tiffany Diamond is not up for sale and is viewed as the hallmark of the jeweler Tiffany & Company, but, it is loaned on occasion to museums like the Smithsonian so that the general public may view its brilliance. Originally purchased in 1878 by Charles Tiffany for $18,000, the Tiffany Diamond is worth millions today and perhaps could almost be labeled priceless due to the rarity of the color.
