Color Unnamed Brown Cut by Gabriel Tolkowsky | Cut fire rose cushion cut Discovered 1985 | |
Weight 545.67 carats (109.134 g) | ||
The Golden Jubilee Diamond (Thai: เพชรกาญจนาภิเษก) is the largest cut and faceted diamond in the world. It weighs 545.67 carats (109.13 g). It outweighs the Cullinan I by 15.37 carats (3.07 g). The Golden Jubilee Diamond was discovered in the Premier Mine, which is also the origin of the Cullinan diamond (1905) and other notables such as the Taylor–Burton (1966) and the Centenary (1986). The Cullinan I, also known as the Great Star of Africa, had held the title of the largest cut and faceted diamond since 1908.
Contents
The diamond is valued at 4–12 million U.S. dollars.
History
The Golden Jubilee Diamond was cut from a large brown diamond of 755.5 carats (151 g), found in the prolific blue ground of the Premier Mine in South Africa in 1985. First known as the "Unnamed Brown," the Golden Jubilee was given to Gabriel Tolkowsky by De Beers for the purpose of testing special tools and cutting methods that had been developed for use on the colourless D-colour Centenary.
Because of its deep cracks and several inclusions, the Golden Jubilee Diamond was cut in a specially designed underground room free from vibrations. The yellow-brown diamond was transformed through a fire rose cushion cut. Until 1990, the diamond remained largely unknown to the outside world, requiring two years to bring it to its current state.
The unnamed diamond was brought to Thailand by the Thai Diamond Manufacturers Association to be exhibited in the Thai Board of Investment Exhibition in Laem Chabang and was selected to herald De Beer's centennial celebrations in 1988.
The Golden Jubilee was purchased from De Beers by a group led by Henry Ho in 1995. De Beers considered this as an opportunity to test new cutting technologies. The same technology used in cutting the future Golden Jubilee diamond was later used in the cutting of the Centenary Diamond, a smaller (273.85 carats) but much more obviously beautiful, flawless and colorless rough diamond.
Blessings
The diamond was brought to Pope John Paul II in the Vatican to receive a Papal blessing. It was also blessed by the Buddhist Supreme Patriarch of Thailand and the Islamic Chularatchamontri.
The diamond (Thai: เพชรกาญจนาภิเษก) was named by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and given to him in honour of his 50th coronation anniversary. It was initially planned to mount the Golden Jubilee in the royal sceptre. A subsequent plan was to mount it in a royal seal.
Exhibitions
The Golden Jubilee Diamond has been exhibited at Henry Ho's 59-story Jewelry Trade Center in Bangkok, the Central Department Store in Lad Prao (Bangkok) Thailand, and internationally in Basel (Switzerland), Borsheims in Omaha, Nebraska, USA (owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.), and Gleims Jewelers in Palo Alto, California. USA. It is now located in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the Crown jewels.
Price estimate
It is complicated to apply an exact price estimation to the Golden Jubilee diamond worth. It is believed to range between $4 to $12 million USD. If sold at auction, it is likely that this stone would fetch a significantly higher price.