On November 15th, Sotheby’s Geneva will present the largest Fancy Vivid Yellow pear shaped diamond in the world at its Magnificent Jewels auction. Exhibited earlier this year at London’s Natural History Museum, the VVS1 marvel known as the Sun-Drop Diamond is approximately the size of a woman’s thumb. According to the GIA, “a diamond such as the 110.03 carat Sun-Drop can almost be said to exude a magical aura. Its magnificent color combined with impressive size and uncommon cut make it a paragon in the world of diamonds.”
The rough for the precious stone was discovered in South Africa in 2010 and is estimated to fetch between $11-15 million USD. “This stone has immense presence and is truly stunning. It is also one of the largest diamonds ever to have appeared at auction”, said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry department in Europe and the Middle East. View more shots of this rare beauty below.
Researches have discovered a way to create a nanocyrstalline diamond aerogel. What’s that you may ask? Referred to as “blue smoke”, “frozen smoke” and “solid smoke”, aerogel is synthetic product first created in 1931 which is currently used today for insulation, water purification, as well as blocking electrical signals and noise. It’s a class of materials that exhibit the lowest density and thermal conductivity of any bulk solid.
Looking for ways to strengthen this creation, lead researcher Peter J. Pauzauskie and colleagues at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory married one of the least dense structures known to science with one of the hardest materials naturally found on earth – diamonds.
Using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, the California based team mimicked pressures existing deep within planets creating materials and phases not observed under normal circumstances. The result created a substance with a density of around 40 mg per cubic centimeter (approximately 40 times denser than air).
The completely transparent product sparkles just like a diamond. Pliable like plastic, diamond aerogels could have future use in antireflection coatings applied to the surface of lenses such as telescopes, binoculars, eyeglasses or any other device that may require a reduction in reflection. This product also has potential to coat structures within the human body due to its biocompatible nature. Because diamonds emit electrons, diamond aerogels have a future place in technology as well such as creating better flat screen televisions and ultra strong quantum information processors.
Diamonds have come quite a long way since their use in jewelry and engagement rings haven’t they?
A Chinese jewelry collector has created a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famed Mona Lisa – made entirely of diamonds. It took the owner 30 years to collect all of the gemstones required and 5 years him and a group of top European craft masters to create this one of a kind piece. Thousands of precious stones totaling to approximately 100,000 carats were used to bring this dazzling work of art to life.
The replica currently sits on display within a shopping mall in Shenyang City, China.
London’s Natural History Museum is currently hosting the largest vivid-yellow pear shaped diamond in the world. Weighing in at a whopping 110.03 carats, The Cora Sun-Drop diamond is said to be so valuable, that it’s priceless – literally. Experts consider the diamond so rare that it’s price cannot be calculated, and as of yet, no one has made an attempt to do so.
This precious pear-shaped yellow diamond is approximately the size of a woman’s thumb and has a color grade of fancy vivid yellow, which is already extremely rare. Unusual diamonds of this color stem from very small amounts of nitrogen within the carbon structure of the stone.
“When you look at a diamond like this you are not only looking at a unique piece of art, you are looking at the fascinating science that bought this stone to us,” said Alan Hart, head of mineralogy collection at The Natural History Museum.
The stone is set to be on display for the next six months.
A new beauty is set to step into the global spotlight on April 12th. Christie’s recently announced it will auction a 10.09 carat cushion cut Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond as the highlight of its Magnificent Jewels sale in New York. This rare and exceptional diamond is estimated at $12,000,000-15,000,000.
The past 15 months, has seen a growing investor demand for large and rare fancy color diamonds, a number of which have sold for more than $1 million per carat. In November 2010, a 24.78 carat emerald cut pink diamond sold at auction at Sotheby’s for $46 million, shattering the world record for the highest price ever bid for a jewel at auction.
“Collector demand for large colored diamonds has never been stronger, especially where pink diamonds of this size and quality are concerned. Fewer than 10 percent of all pink diamonds mined weigh more than 0.20 carats, and even fewer exhibit the exceptional color saturation and brilliance of this exceptional gem. In all my years at Christie’s, I have never seen such vivid color in a stone of this size,” said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewelry at Christie’s New York.
“At Christie’s New York this past December, jewelry collectors competed for a 6.89 carat Fancy Vivid purplish-pink diamond, which ultimately sold for $6.9 million or $1 million per carat. This larger stone, with its richer, deeper hue of pink and electrifying purple tone is positioned to become one of this season’s top-selling diamonds,” he added.
Imagine a world where diamonds are more plentiful than sand? Nasa has discovered a massive planet so abundant in carbon, that the mountains on it could very well be made entirely of diamonds. Named WASP-12b, the planet is said to be a gas giant 1.4x the size of Jupiter.
This is the first planet ever discovered with a carbon-to-oxygen ratio greater than one. The high amounts of carbon have led astronomers to believe that its solid core is composed entirely of diamonds rather than the silicon and oxygen rich elements on earth. Diamonds are formed when carbon is compressed at extremely high temperatures.
“The high carbon-to-oxygen ratio indicates a carbide or diamond interior rather than the silicate geology of the Earth”, said Nikku Madhusudhan, a Princeton astrophysicist who led the study. Madhusudhan and his team were able to analyze the composition of the planet due to the proximity of its star. In fact, the planet resides so close, it revolves around the star in a little more than an earth day.
Already planning a space expedition to see explore this scintillating beauty and perhaps grab a gem or two? Even if you managed to travel 871 light years to visit, you would be welcomed by a temperature of 4,200 degrees Fahrenheit which would probably vaporize you instantly.
Attesting to a growing demand of rare gems being bought for investment purposes, a world record was smashed when one was sold for 45.4 million francs ($46 million) at auction in Geneva this week. Laurence Graff won the bid for a 24.78-carat rare pink emerald cut diamond surpassing initial expectations of $27 million to $38 million dollars. “This is the highest price ever bid for a jewel at auction,” said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby’s European and the Middle Eastern jewelry departments. “Everybody was surprised it went that high,” Mart van Drunen, a jeweler from Amsterdam, commented after the sale.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has classified the diamond as “Fancy Intense Pink”. Sold by a private collector, this marks the first time the gem was put on the market in 60 years. “What makes it so immensely rare is the combination of its exceptional color and purity with the classic emerald-cut,” said chairman David Bennett. “It’s a style of cutting normally associated with white diamonds and one that is so highly sought-after when found in rare colors such as pink and blue,” he added.
Graff immediately renamed the gem the “The Graff Pink”. “It is the most fabulous diamond I’ve seen in the history of my career and I’m delighted to have bought it,” he said in a statement issued by Sotheby’s. The jewelry auction raised a record 103 million francs.
The Wittlesbach-Graff Diamond was finally unveiled at the American Museum of Natural History. In a category known as Type IIb, this type of diamond is believed to make up less than half of one percent of all diamonds found in nature, putting the Wittlesbach-Graff alongside very rare company such as the 70.21-carat Idol’s Eye and the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond. These types of stones get their distinctive blue hue from the absence of nitrogen and presence of boron. They are also semiconductors, which is another unusual trait.
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