Russian mining giant unveils 51-carat ‘dynasty’ diamond

Russian diamond mining company, Alrosa, unveiled a collection of five diamonds produced at its cutting and polishing facilities. The centerpiece of the collection is the “Dynasty” diamond—a 51.38-carat traditional round brilliant-cut diamond, which the state-owned company says is “the purest of all large diamonds manufactured throughout the Russian jewelry history.”

Alrosa said during the unveiling Wednesday in Moscow that it plans to sell the collection at an online auction scheduled for November 2017.

In addition to its size, the 57-facet gem has been rated Triple Excellent (excellent in polish, symmetry and cut), D color (colorless) and VVS1(very, very slightly included), a clarity grading just below “flawless” and “internally flawless” meaning a tiny speck is visible at 10x magnification through the pavilion of the diamond.

The Dynasty diamond, a 51.38-carat traditional round brilliant-cut diamondCOURTESY OF ALROSA

Sergey Ivanov, Alrosa president, said a diamond of this size and with these characteristics has never been produced in Russia and it has the potential to be most expensive diamond ever sold in the country’s history. Less than 1% of diamonds have these characteristics.

The Dynasty DiamondCOURTESY OF ALROSA

The complete collection of five diamonds totaling 76.22 carats is also called Dynasty. They were created from a 179-carat rough diamond named “Romanovs,” recovered in 2015 from an Alrosa-owned diamond mine in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in northeast Russia.

\

The 179-carat Romanovs rough diamond that was the source of the Dynasty collectionCOURTESY OF ALROSA

Ivanov said it took Alrosa technicians and craftsmen a year-and-a-half to create the collection.

“Such characteristics of polished diamonds obtained from one rough diamond are exceptional. To be sure, it is a masterpiece of Russian polishers,” Ivanov said.

The other diamonds in the Dynasty collection are as follows:

The Sheremetevs diamondCOURTESY OF ALROSA

* “The Sheremetevs,” a 16.67-carat round brilliant-cut diamond, the second largest diamond in the collection;

The Orlovs diamondCOURTESY OF ALROSA

* “The Orlovs,” a 5.05-carat oval diamond;

The VorontsovsCOURTESY OF ALROSA

* “The Vorontsovs,” a 1.73-carat pear-cut diamond; and

The YusupovsCOURTESY OF ALROSA

* “The Yusupovs,” a 1.39-carat diamond.

The names Dynasty for the collection and Romanovs for the rough that created the collection were chosen because they are connected with the company’s intention to “revive the traditions and memory of renowned Russian jewelers famous for their craftsmanship and filigree.”

The Dynasty being unveiled Wednesday COURTESY OF ALROSA

Specifically it honors Peter I, the Russian Tsar of the House of Romanov, who is credited with founding the country’s first cutting and polishing factory early in the 18th Century and the Romanov dynasty known for its  appreciation of diamonds and jewels.

Source: Forbes