Jubilee Diamond
October 11, 2008 – 10:44 amThere are extremely important gems, too, that are fit for a king but remain in private hands. Foremost among them is the Jubilee Diamond. It was a large, flattened piece when found in 1895, at the Jagersfontein Mine, in South Africa. In 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee unique engagement rings, the rough stone was cut to a 245I/s-carat, cushion-shaped brilliant of superb color, brilliance, and clarity.
It is a truly remarkable diamond that also ranks as the third largest in the world. Soon after its exhibition in Paris in 1900 it was sold to Dorab Tata, an iron and steel tycoon of India custom wedding bands. He had it until his death. In 1939 it was sold from his estate to Paul-Louis Weiller, a wealthy European patron of the arts. With his permission the great gem appeared in 1960 at the Smithsonian Institution for only the second exposure to public gaze in its history.