Princie
Princie is a 34.65-carat pillow -cut diamond in the color Fancy Intense Pink. It was found 300 years ago in the Indian Golkonda mines and auctioned off at Christie's on April 16, 2013 for a price of 39.3 million US dollars . According to the auction house, Princie is the third largest pink fancy diamond in the world.
Physical Properties
Research by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) showed that Princie belongs to the category of Type IIa diamonds. These gemstones are characterized by their high purity. Its pink hue has been classified as high quality Fancy Intense Pink. Princie is currently the largest diamond in this color, sourced from the Golconda mines and certified by the GIA. Its purity grade is VS2. A special characteristic of the diamond is its bright orange-red fluorescence that can be observed when exposed to UV radiation. According to the GIA, this optical effect is a typical feature of diamonds of Indian origin. Of the more than 7 million diamonds classified by the GIA, this phenomenon has so far only been observed in 40. Princie is the largest pink diamond with this fluorescence.
history
Princie was discovered in the Golkonda mines 300 years ago. Long before it was known by its current name, it was owned by the royal family (the Nizams) of Hyderabad. In 1960 it was put up for auction by the current Nizam at Sotheby's and bought by the jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels for £ 46,000 . The diamond was named after Pierre Arpels, who named it in honor of the then 14-year-old Sayajirao Gaekwad (1945–1985), Prince of Baroda, after his nickname as "Princie". The gem has not been seen in public since 1960.
Auction in 2013
Princie was auctioned by Christie’s in New York on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 for the top price of 39.3 million US dollars to an anonymous telephone bidder. This set a record for the most expensive diamond from the Golkonda mines ever to be auctioned off. It was also the highest price ever paid for a gemstone or piece of jewelry at Christie's.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christie's: Magnificent Jewels and the Princie Diamond
- ↑ BBC: Princie Diamond
- ↑ Christie's Lotfinder
- ↑ The Princie Diamond ( Memento of the original dated November 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
