Jubilee Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Jubilee Diamond, originally known as the Reitz Diamond is a colourless, cushion-shaped diamond
weighing 245.35 carats (49.07 gram
s), making it the sixth largest diamond
in the world. It was originally named after Francis William Reitz
, the then president of the Orange Free State
where the stone was discovered, before being renamed to honour the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1897.
The original stone, a rough octahedron weighing 650.80 carats (130.16 g), was discovered in 1895 at the Jagersfontein Mine
in South Africa
. A consortium of diamond merchants from London
purchased it along with its even larger sister, the Excelsior
, in 1896, and sent it to Amsterdam where it was polished by M.B. Barends. A 40 carat (8 g) chunk was removed, which itself yielded a 13.34 carat (2.668 g) pear-shaped gem eventually purchased by Carlos I of Portugal
.
Dorabji Tata
acquired it around 1900 and gave it to his wife Meherbai. She used to wear it during her visits to the royal courts and public functions. The Jubilee Diamond was the largest in the world till 1905 when a bigger diamond was exhibited. It was sold only after his death in 1932 and the money went to the formation of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
weighing 245.35 carats (49.07 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s), making it the sixth largest diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
in the world. It was originally named after Francis William Reitz
Francis William Reitz
Francis William Reitz, Jr. was a South African lawyer, politician, statesman, publicist and poet, member of parliament of the Cape Colony, Chief Justice and fifth State President of the Orange Free State, State Secretary of the South African Republic at the time of the Second Boer War, and the...
, the then president of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
where the stone was discovered, before being renamed to honour the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1897.
The original stone, a rough octahedron weighing 650.80 carats (130.16 g), was discovered in 1895 at the Jagersfontein Mine
Jagersfontein Mine
Jagersfontein Mine is an abandoned open-pit mine in South Africa located close to the town of Jagersfontein and approximately south-west of Bloemfontein. Since it was first established in 1888, two of the ten biggest diamonds ever discovered, the Excelsior and the Reitz , were mined from...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. A consortium of diamond merchants from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
purchased it along with its even larger sister, the Excelsior
Excelsior Diamond
The Excelsior Diamond was found on June 30, 1893 at the Jagersfontein Mine by a worker while loading a truck. The man was able to hide the diamond from the supervisors but delivered it to the manager of the mine himself. Until 1905, when the larger Cullinan diamond was found, the Excelsior was the...
, in 1896, and sent it to Amsterdam where it was polished by M.B. Barends. A 40 carat (8 g) chunk was removed, which itself yielded a 13.34 carat (2.668 g) pear-shaped gem eventually purchased by Carlos I of Portugal
Carlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...
.
Dorabji Tata
Dorabji Tata
Sir Dorabji Tata , was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, and a key figure in the history and development of the Tata industrial empire...
acquired it around 1900 and gave it to his wife Meherbai. She used to wear it during her visits to the royal courts and public functions. The Jubilee Diamond was the largest in the world till 1905 when a bigger diamond was exhibited. It was sold only after his death in 1932 and the money went to the formation of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.