De Beers Diamond

The South African Diamond Rush

The story of the De Beers Diamond begins with the discovery of diamonds in South Africa during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Diamonds were discovered in the region near Kimberley in the late 1860s, triggering one of the great mineral rushes of the nineteenth century.

The discoveries transformed what had been a remote agricultural region into one of the world's most important diamond-producing centers.

The South African discoveries also helped create the modern international diamond industry.

The De Beer Brothers

Two brothers, Diederik Arnoldus de Beer and Johannes Nicolaas de Beer, owned a farm in the Kimberley region where important diamond deposits were discovered.

Their surname became permanently associated with the area and, eventually, with the company that would dominate much of the world's diamond trade.

De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited was formed in 1888 under the leadership of Cecil Rhodes as mining interests in the Kimberley region were consolidated.

Discovery of the De Beers Diamond

The great diamond that came to be known as the De Beers Diamond was recovered from the South African diamond fields during the late nineteenth century.

In its rough form, the stone reportedly weighed approximately 428.5 old carats. It had an octahedral crystal form characteristic of many natural rough diamonds.

After cutting and polishing, the stone became a large cushion-shaped, pale-yellow diamond weighing about 234.65 carats.

Even after the substantial loss of weight required during cutting, the finished diamond remained extraordinary in size.

Why Is the De Beers Diamond Yellow?

Yellow coloration in natural diamonds is commonly associated with the presence of trace amounts of nitrogen within the diamond's crystal structure.

Nitrogen atoms can absorb portions of visible light, allowing the diamond to display a yellow appearance.

Depending upon the concentration and arrangement of nitrogen within the crystal, yellow coloration can range from a faint tint to an intense fancy color.

An Exceptional Size

At approximately 234.65 carats, the De Beers Diamond ranks among the great faceted diamonds of history.

Its combination of tremendous size and visible yellow color helped make it particularly impressive when viewed as the centerpiece of a large ceremonial jewel.

Unlike a loose diamond displayed by itself, the De Beers Diamond became internationally famous as part of an elaborate royal necklace.

Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala

The diamond eventually became associated with Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, one of the most prominent Indian princes of the early twentieth century.

Patiala was a princely state in the Punjab region of northwestern India.

Like many Indian rulers of the period, the Maharaja possessed an extraordinary collection of precious gemstones and commissioned leading European jewelry houses to create elaborate settings for them.

The 1928 Cartier Commission

In 1928, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh commissioned Cartier to create an extraordinary ceremonial necklace using gemstones from the Patiala treasury.

The resulting masterpiece became known as the Patiala Necklace.

Sotheby's describes the commission as one of the most extraordinary pieces of jewelry associated with the Maharajas and identifies the 234.65-carat pale-yellow De Beers Diamond as its centerpiece.

Cartier's relationship with Indian rulers was part of a broader exchange between Indian gemstone traditions and European jewelry design during the early twentieth century.

The Patiala Necklace

The Patiala Necklace was one of the most elaborate jewelry commissions of the twentieth century.

According to Sotheby's, the platinum necklace contained approximately 2,930 diamonds.

At its center was the enormous 234.65-carat pale-yellow De Beers Diamond.

The necklace also incorporated other important diamonds and Burmese rubies, creating an immense ceremonial jewel designed to display the wealth and prestige of the Patiala royal family.

Cartier and the Maharajas of India

During the early twentieth century, Cartier developed important relationships with Indian princes and royal families.

Jacques Cartier traveled to India and became familiar with Indian jewelry traditions and the extraordinary gemstones preserved in princely treasuries.

Indian rulers, in turn, often commissioned European jewelers to reset historic gemstones into contemporary European designs.

The Patiala Necklace became one of the greatest examples of this cultural and artistic exchange.

The Necklace Disappears

Following the end of British colonial rule in India and the political transformation of the princely states after independence in 1947, many royal collections were dispersed or reorganized.

At some point during the middle decades of the twentieth century, the Patiala Necklace disappeared from public view.

The precise circumstances surrounding the dispersal of the necklace and its gemstones remain unclear.

Over time, many of the great stones were apparently removed from their original Cartier setting.

The De Beers Diamond Reappears

Decades after the Patiala Necklace disappeared, the De Beers Diamond itself resurfaced independently on the international jewelry market.

In 1982, the famous yellow diamond was offered at auction in Geneva.

By this time, the De Beers Diamond had been separated from the Patiala Necklace and appeared as an individual gemstone.

Its reappearance demonstrated that at least the great centerpiece of the original Cartier creation had survived.

The Necklace Is Rediscovered

Another remarkable development occurred in 1998, when remnants of the original Patiala Necklace were reportedly discovered in London.

The major gemstones were no longer present.

Most notably, the enormous De Beers Diamond had long since been removed from the setting.

Nevertheless, enough of the original Cartier framework survived to make the historic necklace recognizable.

Cartier Restores the Necklace

Cartier acquired the surviving framework and undertook an extensive restoration project.

Because the original major gemstones were missing, replacement materials were used to recreate the visual appearance of the historic necklace.

The restoration allowed modern audiences to appreciate the extraordinary scale, complexity and craftsmanship of Cartier's original 1928 creation.

The restored necklace is therefore a reconstruction of the original design rather than the complete original jewel with all of its historic gemstones.

Why the De Beers Diamond Matters

The importance of the De Beers Diamond extends far beyond its exceptional carat weight.

Its history begins during the transformation of South Africa into the center of the modern diamond industry, continues through the royal courts of India and reaches its artistic high point in one of Cartier's greatest jewelry commissions.

Few diamonds connect so many important chapters of jewelry history in a single stone: South African diamond mining, De Beers, the Maharajas of India and Cartier high jewelry.

Its later separation from the Patiala Necklace, appearance on the auction market and the eventual discovery and restoration of the necklace's surviving framework have added further mystery to its story.

Legacy of the De Beers Diamond

The De Beers Diamond represents an extraordinary intersection of geology, mining history, royal patronage and jewelry design.

Born deep within the earth, recovered during the development of South Africa's great diamond fields, cut into a massive pale-yellow cushion-shaped gem and eventually mounted in a spectacular Cartier necklace, the diamond has traveled through very different worlds.

Its story also illustrates an important distinction between famous diamonds and ordinary gemstones. Historic diamonds derive their importance not merely from their size, color or quality, but from the people, places and events connected with them.

For the De Beers Diamond, those connections include the Kimberley diamond fields, the emergence of the De Beers mining enterprise, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and one of the most celebrated creations in Cartier's history.