Premier Rose Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Premier Rose Diamond (353.9 carats (70.8 g)) was one of the large rare gems produced by Premier Mine
, of De Beers
in South Africa
.
in partnership with William Goldberg
of New York
. The diamond was marked for bisection by Rose Mouw, the spouse of Jacob Mouw, the founder of Mouw Diamond Cutting.
and was one of the main polishers of the Centenary Diamond
), and the 2.11 carats (422 mg). (Baby Rose) was done by Mike Botha
and Willem Joubert. The stones resulting from the original stone have been named the Premier Rose family, with the largest retaining the name of Premier Rose Diamond.
The Premier Rose collection ranks among the finest polished gems in the world and became the benchmark in symmetry and proportions for large fancy cut diamonds.
and Rose Mouw, hence the name Premier Rose.
. The diamond did not exhibit any trigons on the octahedral faces (111) or noticeable striae on the dodecahedral faces (110) and the crystallographic orientation was derived from the presence of two orthogonal inversions on one of the hexahedral faces (100).
Premier Mine
The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds. It is situated in the town of Cullinan, 40 kilometres east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary...
, of De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
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...
.
History
It was mined in March 1978. The diamond was purchased by Mouw Diamond Cutting in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in partnership with William Goldberg
William Goldberg (diamond dealer)
William Goldberg was an American diamond dealer and the founder of the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation.-Biography:Goldberg was born December 22, 1925 in Brooklyn, New York City. He started cutting diamonds in 1948, but found that his aptitude lay with buying and selling diamonds rather than...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The diamond was marked for bisection by Rose Mouw, the spouse of Jacob Mouw, the founder of Mouw Diamond Cutting.
Cutting
Frans Swanepoel was responsible for the sawing of the diamond and the cleaving of the lesser half of the diamond was done by Sylvain Mouw. The polishing of the two main diamonds of 137.02 (Big Rose) and 31.48 (Little Rose) ct. was done by David du Plessis (who was also responsible for polishing The Golden JubileeThe Golden Jubilee
The Golden Jubilee is currently the largest faceted diamond in the world. Since 1908, Cullinan I, also known as the Great Star of Africa, had held the title, which changed following the 1985 discovery of a large brown diamond of 755.5 carats in the prolific blue ground of the Premier mine in South...
and was one of the main polishers of the Centenary Diamond
Centenary Diamond
The De Beers Centenary Diamond is, at , the third-largest diamond to have been produced in the Premier Mine. The Centenary Diamond is rated in color as grade D color by the Gemological Institute of America, which is the highest grade of colourless diamond and is internally and externally flawless...
), and the 2.11 carats (422 mg). (Baby Rose) was done by Mike Botha
Mike Botha
An master diamond cutter, with close to four decades in the profession, Mike Botha’s training and subsequent career began in South Africa and has led him to Mauritius, Russia and Canada – from Vancouver to the Northwest Territories to Saskatchewan....
and Willem Joubert. The stones resulting from the original stone have been named the Premier Rose family, with the largest retaining the name of Premier Rose Diamond.
The Premier Rose collection ranks among the finest polished gems in the world and became the benchmark in symmetry and proportions for large fancy cut diamonds.
Name
The diamond was subsequently named after the Premier minePremier Mine
The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds. It is situated in the town of Cullinan, 40 kilometres east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary...
and Rose Mouw, hence the name Premier Rose.
Details
This diamond had some inclusions, yet it was an unmistakably colourless gem. The diamond did not display a definite crystallographic habit and was often incorrectly referred to as a 'cleavage piece'. If a resin model of the diamond is studied however, one would find no evidence of mechanical or natural cleavage on the diamond. The morphology of this diamond was due to plastic deformation during the eruption phase of the kimberliteKimberlite
Kimberlite is a type of potassic volcanic rock best known for sometimes containing diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an diamond in 1871 spawned a diamond rush, eventually creating the Big Hole....
. The diamond did not exhibit any trigons on the octahedral faces (111) or noticeable striae on the dodecahedral faces (110) and the crystallographic orientation was derived from the presence of two orthogonal inversions on one of the hexahedral faces (100).