Nassak Diamond
Munich, Germany's Reich der Kristalle museum replica of the 1820s Rundell and Bridge recut of the Nassak Diamond. In reality the diamond was nowhere near this blue, being a white Type IIa classic Golconda diamond. The term "blue-white" is often used to describe these diamonds but in reality alongside a modern D-color diamond it would have had an extremely faint blue cast. Its cut was also more complex (see below images).
|
|
| Weight | 43.38 carats (8.676 g) |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 23.35 x 21.73 x 11.51 mm (estimate) |
| Color | Blue-white |
| Cut | Emerald |
| Country of origin | India |
| Mine of origin | Amaragiri, Mahbubnagar district |
| Discovered | 15th century |
| Cut by | Harry Winston |
| Original owner | Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple |
| Owner | Edward J. Hand |
| Estimated value | $3.08 million (inflation adjusted 1970 value) |
The Nassak Diamond (also known as the Nassac Diamond and the Eye of the Idol) is a large, 43.38 carats (8.676 g) diamond that originated as a larger 89 carat diamond in the 15th century in India. Found in the Amaragiri mine located in Mahbubnagar, Telangana, India, and originally cut in India, the diamond was the adornment in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra, India from at least 1500 to 1817. The British East India Company captured the diamond through the Third Anglo-Maratha War and sold it to British jewellers Rundell and Bridge in 1818. Rundell and Bridge recut the diamond in 1818, after which it made its way into the handle of the 1st Marquess of Westminster's dress sword.
The Nassak Diamond was imported into the United States in 1927, and was considered one of the first 24 great diamonds of the world by 1930. American jeweller Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in 1940 in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38 carats (8.676 g) emerald cut shape. Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewellery firm in 1942. Mrs. William B. Leeds of New York received the gem in 1944 as a sixth anniversary present and wore it in a ring. The Nassak Diamond was last sold at an auction in New York in 1970 to Edward J. Hand, a 48-year-old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Nassak Diamond originated in the 15th century in India. Although the date of the original cutting is unknown, the original cutting was performed in India and had sacrificed everything to size while giving the diamond a form and appearance similar to that of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. From at least 1500 to 1817, the Nassak Diamond adorned the Shivalinga in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nashik (Nassak), India on the upper Godavari River. As priests worshiped Shiva, the diamond eventually acquired its name from its long-term proximity to Nashik.
...
Wikipedia