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The Spirit of De Grisogono

The Spirit of de Grisogono, at 312.24 carats, is the world’s largest cut black diamond (Black Diamonds are the rarest diamonds that ever existed), and world’s 5th largest diamond.

When it was discovered the Spirit of de Grisogono weighted 587 carats (117g), and it is considered to be the largest natural black diamond ever found.

The Spirit of de Grisogono was mined several decades ago in west Central Africa before being imported into Switzerland. It was then cut using the Mogul diamond cutting technique. This historic cutting method was developed centuries ago in India and can be seen in a number of historic diamonds.

There are not many black stones in the world of famous diamonds, mainly the Black Orlov and the Amsterdam Diamond, which weigh 67 and 33 carats respectively, and several diamonds in the Crown Jewels of Iran, among them the Taj-I-Mah Diamond. The Great Mogul, a 279-carat diamond, is another famous Mogul cut diamond, but its whereabouts are unknown. The more modern rose cut is a variation on the old Mogul cut. A 205-carat black diamond called the ‘Black Star of Africa’ is rumored to exist, being sold to a buyer in Asia during the 1980’s, but this has never been substantiated.

The entire process from studying the cut design to executing it on the de Grisogono rough involved more than a year’s work. The man behind this fascinating work is famous Swiss jeweler de Grisogono. He was the first major jeweler to create eye-catching collections of black diamond jewelry and watches. He is also responsible for cutting the Gruosi Diamond, the largest heart-shaped black diamond in the world. The diamond weighs 312.24 carats.

Fawaz Gruosi, left, at a function with former French tennis player
Henri Leconte and his wife, who is wearing the Spirit of de Grisogono ring

After the cutting was completed, De Grisogono then set the 312.24 carats diamond into a ring made of white gold. The Spirit of de Grisogono Diamond is surrounded by 702 white diamonds weighing 36.69 carats.

The Spirit of de Grisogono Diamond ring was sold to a private client by Fawaz Gruosi, the iconjeweler and famous diamond cutter who leads the de Grisogono House of jewellery, for an undisclosed amount.

source: http://www.24hgold.com