The Graff Venus |
Graff Diamonds just unveiled “The Graff Venus.” At 118.78 carats, the London-based jeweler said it is the world’s largest D-color, flawless heart-shaped diamond.
This is a diamond that is not only large but is among the purest in color, clarity and cut. The D color grade means it is colorless, the top of the color scale for diamonds. It is flawless, the top of the clarity scale. It is a Type IIa diamond, meaning it is almost or entirely devoid of impurities. They make up between 1 and 2 percent of all natural diamonds.
The diamond also possesses excellent polish, excellent symmetry and no fluorescence—again the very highest accolades a diamond can achieve.
The Graff Venus was cut from a 357-carat rough diamond discovered in 2015 at the Letšeng Mine in Lesotho, the company said, addition that Laurence Graff, the founder of the London-based high jewelry brand, “knew instinctively that hidden within its depths lay the potential to create diamond history—it displayed an outstanding size, color and clarity of the highest standard.”
The company added, “A heart shape diamond must be perfectly faceted and entirely symmetrical to ensure a perfect silhouette and exquisite scintillation. The exceptional size of the heart required the development of special tools and new technologies. The process was incredibly risky and tense.”
From discovery to completion, the process of analysis, cutting and polishing the diamond took 18 months.
More than half of the world’s top 20 largest diamonds discovered this century have been cut and polished by Graff.
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