Yet Another Priceless Blue Diamond?

Oh great, like we needed more people crowding the Gems exhibit. We're a month out from crazy school trip tourist season and the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History decides to trot out another giant, incredibly rare, brilliant blue diamond. Like it's not packed enough.

Seriously though, tomorrow the almost incomparable Wittelsbach-Graff Blue diamond will go on display in the Harry S. Winston Gallery.  Almost, but not quite incomparable, as just a few steps away is its comparatively dull cousin, the Hope diamond. There are so few blue diamonds that exist in the world, and of those, most are under a caret. For just over six months visitors to Washington will have the rare chance to actually compare two of the largest blue diamonds in the world.

Now I'm going to assume that, like myself, you didn't read the Winter 2008 issue of Gems and Gemology (pdf) from cover to cover; so let me briefly summarize for you. The diamond, traditionally known as the Wittelsbach Blue, is named after its long time owner, the royal family of Bavaria, the House of Wittelsbach (yeah, like you knew that either). Like the Hope, it has been presumed to have come from the Golconda region of India, possibly brought to Europe by the same dealer, Jean Baptiste Tavernier (who was not, despite the stories, torn apart by wild dogs). The diamond was passed around the royal houses of Europe until it lodged itself with the Wittelsbach family in Bavaria. All fine and good until after World War I, when Bavaria ended its monarchy. The Wittelsbachs, who must not have had eligible daughters to marry off to rich Americans, were forced to sell off the diamond.

Things become sketchy here, and the Wittelsbach Blue entered the world of professional diamond traders who are, as we understand, well known for their transparency. The diamond was last seen in 1964 and disappeared entirely until November of 2008, when it appeared at auction at Christie's. It was purchased by London jeweler Lawrence Graff for $24.3 million. Graff made the somewhat controversial decision to cut the 35.52 caret gem down to 31.06 carets, to improve its clarity, cut, and brilliance. As you might have figured out, this is where the diamond was renamed, to its current title of Wittelsbach-Graff Blue. Graff Diamonds is loaning he gem to the Smithsonian for display and study.

Now, there has been much historical speculation that the Wittelsbach-Graff (fun to say, isn't it!) was cut from the same crystal as the Hope diamond. A few days ago, scientists from the Smithsonian, Naval Research Laboratory, and the Gem Institute of America found that

While the observations revealed many similarities, some clear differences in their properties were recognized. Microscopic examination of the Hope diamond with crossedpolarizers showed distinctly banded internal strain, in contrast to a typical "tatami" patter displayed by the Wittelsbach-Graff. In the DiamondView deep-ultraviolet luminescence imaging system, both diamonds showed well-developed dislocation networks with moderate-to-strong fluorescence throughout the entire stone; however, the scale of the network patterns differed significantly.

Got that? Me neither. I understood each word, but the whole thing makes no sense to me. In other words (I guess), they're saying the Hope and the Wittelsbach-Graff are not cut from the same crystal. As Dr. Cristián Samper, the director of Museum of Natural History put it, they're "not brother or sister, but distant cousins."

The diamond will be on display until August 1, 2010. If you have a chance, I'd go now. Because the place is going to be overrun in about a month with school kids sent there by their tour guide. Sorry about that, by the way.

Comments

[Richard Wise]

Great article! For those who are interested in more information on the source and acquistion of the 116 carat blue diamond that eventually became The Hope and the adventures of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, you can find my article, From The Sun King To The Smithsonian at http://www.thefrenchblue.com