Rock Your Body: Whom You Know Kicks it Off With The Tiffany Diamond
Rock Your Body: Whom You Know Kicks it Off With The Tiffany Diamond
The Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds in the world. Discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa in 1877, the 287.42-carat stone was purchased the next year by Tiffany & Co. for $18,000.
The rough diamond was brought to Paris, where Tiffany’s chief gemologist, Dr. George Frederick Kunz, supervised the cutting of the diamond into a cushion-shaped brilliant weighing 128.54 carats with an unprecedented 82 facets—24 more facets than the traditional 58-facet brilliant cut. The stone is just over an inch wide and seven-eighths of an inch from top to bottom. Cut to enhance its beauty rather than size, the diamond sparkles as if lit by an inner flame.
The Tiffany Diamond was the highlight of the jeweler’s displays at world’s fairs, including the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago; the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York; the 1933–34 Century of Progress in Chicago; and the 1939–40 World’s Fair in New York.
Later events include the reopening of Tiffany’s London store in 1986; the introduction of Tiffany & Co. to the Japanese market in 1972; and DeBeers’ 100th anniversary celebration in Kimberley, South Africa, in 1971.
The diamond has appeared in the windows of the New York store on one occasion. Tiffany’s renowned window designer Gene Moore placed the diamond in the hands of a floating gold-wire angel during the holiday season. Passersby were amazed to see that the diamond was clearly visible from across the street.
Many people ask if the Tiffany Diamond is for sale. On November 17, 1972, Tiffany’s daily Page Three advertisement in The New York Times offered the un-set stone for sale for $5,000,000. The offer, however, was good for only 24 hours.
Only two women have ever worn the Tiffany Diamond. Mrs. Mary Whitehouse wore the diamond set in a lavish necklace for the 1957 Tiffany Ball in Newport, Rhode Island; and Audrey Hepburn wore a Jean Schlumberger necklace of diamond ribbons surrounding the diamond in publicity photographs for the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Mr. Schlumberger designed a wardrobe of settings for the Tiffany Diamond. Until 1995, however, with the mounting of the stone in Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock setting, only the ribbon necklace was executed.
Poised in Schlumberger’s witty setting, the Tiffany Diamond is on permanent display on the Main Floor of Tiffany’s famed Fifth Avenue store in New York. Whom You Know highly recommends you paying it a visit! Even if you DON'T have the mean reds...Beyond its inherent value and transcendent beauty, the Tiffany Diamond has become a symbol of the jeweler’s diamond authority and the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship established with the founding of Tiffany & Co. over eight generations ago.
TIFFANY & CO. and TIFFANY are trademarks of Tiffany and Company.
