Dreamy Pink: The Princie Sets a New Standard for Fancy Pink Diamonds

The Princie Diamond Sells for nearly $40 million at Christie's. Photo Credit: Elite Daily. by Angela Magnotti Andrews As of today, the Princie Diamond holds 2nd place on our Top Twenty Diamonds & Jewels Sold at Auction. This record-breaking Cushion Brilliant, Fancy Intense Pink diamond, weighing an extraordinary 34.65 carats, topped the charts at Christie's New York Magnificent Jewels Sale this past Tuesday. In just a few minutes of bidding, an anonymous collector secured the Golconda stone, called "Princie", for $39.3 million over the phone. Being the third largest Fancy Intense Pink diamond in the world, the Princie is now the largest and most valuable hailing from the Golconda mines in India, and it ranks as the largest Fancy Intense Pink Golconda stone ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). {6} Breaking further records this past Tuesday, the dazzling pink stone now holds a new record for any jewel sold at Christie's {3}, and its selling price is the second-highest paid for a jewel at auction. And just in case that wasn't enough, the auction house reports that the entire sale now ranks as the most successful various-owner sale in the United States to date. {9} A Noble History The GIA's report on the Princie provided sufficient evidence that the diamond would command a high price; however, Christie's credits the stone's noble history as its most compelling selling point. Found in the Golconda mines approximately 300 years ago, the Princie diamond became the sole property of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Though rare and beautiful even then, the Princie was just one of the Nizam's resplendent prizes. Historical accounts describe trunks so heavy with silver and gold bullion that the wheels of the carriages they were loaded onto sunk into the ground under their weight. Before the end of his reign in 1961, the last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, had been declared by Time Magazine (1937) as the richest man in the world. {10} Unfortunately, the heights of fame and glory were not his to keep. As the last of the "Kings of Golconda," Mir Osman was ruler only in title, after the British Empire assumed rule of India in 1948. As the Nizam's power dwindled, so did his wealth. The man who was once known to use a $55.5 million diamond (the Jacob Diamond) as a paperweight, appears to have fallen upon hard times in 1960. {10} The Nizam was forced to sell a most treasured possession. Put on the block at Sotheby's as the "Property of a Gentleman," the magnificent pink diamond, for the first time in 300 years, left the Hyderabad treasury, conferring at the time all its noble allure to the esteemed jewelry house, Van Cleef & Arpels. Layers of Alluring History That same year, Van Cleef & Arpels threw a sort of "coming out party" for the diamond, naming as guest of honor yet another Indian VIP, Sita Devi, the Maharanee of Baroda. At this party, the diamond, for the first time in public view, was infused with yet another layer of alluring history. Renowned for her "lavish lifestyle and passion for jewels" {2}, Maharanee Sita Devi held her own as a Royal to watch. She often shared the spotlight with the Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson), who was the most popular Royal followed by the US press. But this was her night alone. Attending the party with her son, Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, whose affectionate nickname inspired the jewelry firm to name the diamond Princie in his honor. The GIA reports that following the party, Van Cleef & Arpels set the stone in an ornate diamond necklace, which was sold to an anonymous buyer. {6} Until now, the gorgeous stone has been secreted away from broad public view ever since. It's brief and shining moment in the spotlight this past week certainly made a lasting impact. Time alone will tell when we'll next catch a glimpse of the pink beauty. What's So Special About Pink Diamond? No doubt this question has been asked before, and the short answer comes down to its rarity. The long answer is far more interesting, and a bit more scientific. The GIA grades diamonds for color based on clarity of color, completely colorless diamonds being, for the most part, the most desired. The scale for diamonds includes grades D-Z, with D indicating a Colorless diamond and Z indicating Light Yellow, with grades of Near Colorless, Faint Yellow, and Very Light Yellow in between. At the GIA, trained experts place new diamonds on a white background next to previously graded diamonds to determine their place on the scale. Some diamonds fall off the chart, like the Princie diamond. These fascinating diamonds are graded on color saturation in the accepted hues (blue, red, pink, brown, black, or darker yellow). If their depth of color qualifies, they are categorized as Fancy Diamonds. {7} If the diamond has a rich enough saturation of color, as the Princie demonstrates, this qualifies a stone to be graded Fancy Intense. Experts agree that pink diamonds, which are rarely greater than 5 carats, are among the rarest of Fancies. To find a Fancy Intense Pink as large as the Princie is "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" {6}. What Makes Pink Diamonds Pink? The short answer is that researchers still don't know. Beginning in 2010, scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History, have been hard at work to crack the case on what makes pink diamonds pink. The team determined that within these rosy stones are two narrow bands of colored crystal which refract the light in mirror-like fashion throughout the stone, causing every other surface in the diamond to broadcast a pink light. Though they have concluded that this slight aberration in a diamond's structure is the result of what is called a plastic deformation (a permanent change in the shape, size, or structure of a solid body without fracture), as recently as December 2012 these scientists remain uncertain as to what contributes the color to the deformation. Such deformities can occur when secondary forces of pressure and heat are applied to a diamond after the stone has already been formed. These deformities are believed to happen before the stone has been pushed to the surface of the earth. Certainly, the allure of the Princie Diamond, and all pink diamonds for that matter, is only further enhanced by this, as of yet, unsolved mystery. Bibliography 1. American Physical Society. "Pink Diamonds." Physics Central, December 1, 2010. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.aip.org/dbis/APS/stories/20137_full.html. 2. Christie's. Magnificent Jewels and The Princie Diamond, Tuesday April 16, 2013. Auction Catalog, 2013. 3. Christie's. "Post-Sale Release: The Power of Pink." Last updated April 16, 2013. http://www.christies.com/about/press-center/releases/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=6312. 4. DeMarco, Anthony. "34-Carat Princie Diamond Fetches Nearly $40 Million, Setting Two Records." Forbes, April 16, 2013. 5. Gaillou, E and Post, J.E. and Rose, T. and Butler, J.E. "Cathodoluminescence of Natural, Platically Deformed Pink Diamonds. Microscopy and Microanalysis, December, 2012. DOI: 10.1017/S1431927612013542. 6. GIA. "Letter Dated March 4, 2013." As seen in the Christie's Catalog, Magnificent Jewels and The Princie Diamond, Tuesday April 16, 2013. 7. Henry, Caitlin. "Colored Diamonds." Cohcise College: Student Papers in Geology. Accessed April 16, 2013. http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/students/diamond-color/project.htm. 8. Naval Research Laboratory. "Naval http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2010/naval-research-laboratory-takes-a-close-look-at-unique-diamonds. 9. "Princie Diamond Sells for $39.3 Million." The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2013. 10. Usborne, David. "Could this be the most expensive gem ever sold?" The Independent, April 16, 2013. Accessed April 16, 2013.