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The Oppenheimer
Diamond, named after the feted South African gold mining entrepreneur- Sir
Ernest Oppenheimer, is one of the biggest uncut diamonds on the globe. The
Oppenheimer Diamond is a nearly perfectly-formed yellow diamond crystal
weighing about 253.7 carat (50.74 g).
It measures
approximately 20 × 20 millimeters and was
discovered in the Dutoitspan Mine, Kimberly, South
Africa in 1964. Harry Winston acquired the stone and presented it to the
Smithsonian Institution in memory of the late Sir Ernest Oppenheimer who was
a famous gold mining enterpriser and also served as the controller of De
Beers for some time.
It's a
beautiful octahedron, the shape that most natural diamonds are found in the
Earth. It's one of the great crystals. There may have been other crystals
found, but they've been cut into diamond gemstones. So for the public to see
this beautiful crystal this size is a unique opportunity. It has some
interesting history too. The diamond was found in the Dutoitspan
mine in Kimberly, South Africa, in 1964. About that time, Harry Winston and
DeBeers, which was run by Sir Earnest Oppenheimer and the Oppenheimer family,
were having a bit of a falling out. Winston was trying to do a bit of an end
run around DeBeers. He wanted to go out and buy his own diamonds and not to
have to always do it through DeBeers (the famous diamond merchants
) and the rules they dictated, and gifted the Oppenheimer Diamond to
the Smithsonian Institution in Sir Ernest Oppenheimer’s memory. So they
had a bit of a tiff, but finally were able to come to an agreement. Part of
the making up process was Harry Winston buying this diamond crystal from
DeBeers, donating it to the Smithsonian and naming it the Oppenheimer
Diamond.
In fact the
Oppenheimer Diamond has also been regarded as one of the huge crystals in the
world. Many crystals have been found in the earth’s surface, but most
of them have been cut into diamond gemstones. But the Oppenheimer Diamond
still exists in its natural form. Thus it is a unique opportunity for the
stone lovers to see this enormous crystal which is displayed at the
Smithsonian’s. However the Oppenheimer Diamond cannot be called a gem
as it is uncut but and fascinates collectors around the world for its
natural, uncut beauty. Only those mineral crystals that have been polished
and cut can be regarded as gems.
All
famous diamonds
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