Origin of name
The name Premier Rose is partially derived from the name
Premier Mine, the mine of origin of the diamond and partially from the name
Rose Mouw, the spouse of the purchaser of the diamond Jacob Mouw, the
founder of the diamond cutting firm Mouw Diamond Cutting Works of
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The diamond is a D-color, internally flawless (IF),
pear-shaped, stone weighing 137.02 carats. Flawless clarity diamonds are
extremely rare, and the Premier Rose is one such diamond. In terms of weight
the Premier Rose is perhaps the 11th largest D-color diamond and the 3rd
largest pear-shaped D-color diamond in the world.
Being a D-color diamond the Premier Rose is a type IIa
diamond, which are Nitrogen free or contain undetectable quantities of
Nitrogen. The crystals are also perfectly formed without any
plastic deformations. Such diamonds which are chemically pure and
structurally perfect are absolutely colorless, and are known as the purest
of the pure of all diamonds. They constitute only about 1-2 % of all
naturally occurring diamonds. Good examples of these diamonds are the
Cullinan diamonds, the Centenary and the Millennium Star diamonds.
History
The diamond was discovered in March 1978, in the Premier
Diamond Mines of Transvaal, South Africa, the renowned diamond mine that
also produced the world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, in 1905, and other
famous diamonds, such as the Niarchos in 1959 and Taylor-Burton in 1966. The
Premier Diamond Mine was one of the most productive diamond mines in the
world. It was also the source of several exceptional quality colored
diamonds, including the very rare blue diamonds. After the exhaustion of
blue diamonds in the Golconda Mines of India, the next important source of
blue diamonds in the world was the Premier Mine.
The circumstances of the discovery of the Premier
Rose is exactly similar to that of the Niarchos, the diamond having passed
through all the stages of the recovery process without being noticed, only
to emerge at the final phase, the grease tables of the recovery plant. The
rough diamond had a weight of 353.9 carats, with a triangular shape, and was
incorrectly referred to as a "cleavage piece", when there was no evidence of
mechanical or natural cleavage on the diamond.
The discovery of the diamond was kept a secret for almost
two months, due to security reasons, but once the discovery was disclosed to
the world, wild speculations began appearing in the press about the possible
destinations for the finished diamond. One news report speculated that
Prince Rainier of Monaco was planning to buy the diamond as a wedding gift
for his daughter Princess Caroline, who was to get married in the near
future, but this report was later denied by the Prince. Another report
speculated that an unnamed European royal family was interested in the
diamond. Even Emperor Bokassa, the self-proclaimed King of the Central
African Republic, who had already spent 20 million pounds on his coronation
was not spared. Finally Jacob Mouw, the founder of the Johannesburg Mouw
Diamond Cutting Company, successfully negotiated the purchase of the diamond
for an undisclosed sum from the De Beers Mining Company, owners of the
Premier Diamond Mine.
The Mouawads then contacted their American partner,
William Goldberg, who also purchased a share in the diamond. Subsequently,
when Mr. Goldberg saw the diamond for the first time, he is reported to have
said, "A lot of people are going to be interested; this is an unusually
exciting diamond."
The cutting of the diamond was entrusted to a team of
expert cutters of the Mouw Diamond Cutting Company of Johannesburg, South
Africa. The sawing of the diamond was carried out by Frans Swanpoel and the
cleaving of the lesser half of the diamond was done by Sylvian Mouw. The
polishing of the two diamonds the big Rose (137.02) and the little Rose
(31.48) was carried out by the famous cutter and polisher David du Plessis;
and the 2.11 carat "Baby Rose" was done by Mike Botha and Willem Joubert.
The three stones from the original rough diamond are together known as the
Premier Rose Family, with the largest keeping the name of Premier Rose
Diamond. David Du Plessis, was subsequently responsible for the cutting and
polishing of the Centenary and Golden Jubilee diamonds, which were
discovered in 1986 and 1985 respectively, also in the Premier mines.
The Premier Rose collection ranks amongst the finest
polished gems in the world and became the benchmark in symmetry and
proportions for large fancy cut diamonds.
The sale of the diamonds were handled by William Goldberg
Corporation of New York. In 1979, the Premier Rose was sold to an anonymous
buyer for 10 million US dollars. The Little Rose (31.48 carats) and the Baby
Rose (2.11 carats) were sold sometime later.
Last transaction and
present owners of the diamond
Recently Robert Mouawad the great collector and
connoisseur of diamonds purchased the Premier Rose and added it to his rare
and magnificent collection of diamonds. The Premier Rose is the second
largest diamond in his collection after the Jubilee weighing 245 carats.
List of famous white
diamonds greater than 100 carats in weight
S/N |
Name |
Carat Weight |
Shape/Cut |
1 |
Cullinan I |
530.20 |
pear |
2 |
CullinanII |
317.40 |
cushion |
3 |
Centenary |
273.85 |
modified heart |
4 |
Jubilee |
245.35 |
cushion |
5 |
Millennium Star |
203.04 |
pear |
6 |
La Luna |
200.07 |
heart |
7 |
Orlov |
189.62 |
rose |
8 |
Jacob-Victoria |
184.50 |
oval |
9 |
Regent |
140.64 |
cushion |
10 |
Paragon |
137.82 |
7-sided |
11 |
Premier Rose |
137.02 |
pear |
12 |
Queen of Holland |
135.92 |
cushion |
13 |
Zale Light of Peace |
130.27 |
Pear |
14 |
Niarchos |
128.25 |
Pear |
15 |
Portuguese |
127.02 |
asscher |
16 |
Jonker |
125.35 |
emerald |
17 |
Al-Nader |
115.83 |
pear |
18 |
Taj-i-Mah |
115.06 |
moghul |
19 |
Edna Star |
115.00 |
emerald |
20 |
Koh-i-Nur |
108.93 |
oval |
21 |
Mouawad Magic |
108.81 |
emerald |
22 |
Cartier |
107.07 |
pear |
23 |
Star of Egypt |
105.51 |
emerald |
24 |
Mouawad Splendor |
101.84 |
pear |
25 |
Star of America |
100.57 |
asscher |
26 |
Star of Happiness |
100.36 |
radiant |
27 |
Star of the Season |
100.10 |
pear |