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Victoria-Transvaal Diamond Necklace [G7101]

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Victoria-Transvaal Diamond Necklace (G7101) from the National Gem Collection

Close-up photograph of the Victoria-Transvaal diamond necklace (G7101)

Photo by Chip Clark

Diamond

Diamonds, like soot, are made of carbon. In a diamond, chains between atoms tightly link to form the hardest material known. In fact, the word diamond comes from the Greek word adamas, which means invincible. Add diamond's fiery brilliance to this extreme hardness and you have a magnificent gem-the April birthstone. Colorless diamonds are few and far between, and valuable as a result. Most diamonds are naturally tinted pale yellow or brown. Fancy diamonds-those with deep shades of yellow, blue, pink, and red-are very rare and highly prized. It is estimated that such fancy colors occur in only one in every 100,000 diamonds.

Hover over color tiles above to learn what this object tells us about the history of the Earth

Catalog #	Mineral	Country	Weight
G7101	Diamond	South Africa	67.89 ct	More info »

G7101 (Victoria-Transvaal Diamond Necklace) was donated by Leonard and Victoria Wilkinson in 1977.

About this object

The Victoria-Transvaal Diamond was cut from a 240-carat rough stone found at the Premier Mine in Transvaal, South Africa, in 1951. The fancy “champagne-colored” diamond was originally cut to 75 carats but then later recut to 67.89 carats for better proportions. The diamond was graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and given a color grade of natural fancy brown-yellow with a clarity grade of VS-2. The Victoria-Transvaal Diamond is a pear-shaped brilliant cut and has 116 facets. The yellow gold necklace was designed by Baumgold Brothers, Inc., and consists of 66 round brilliant cut diamonds, fringed with 10 drop motifs, each set with two marquise-cut diamonds, a pear-shaped diamond, and a small round brilliant cut diamond. Total weight of the 106 diamonds in the necklace is approximately 45 carats. The Victoria-Transvaal diamond was worn in the 1952 movie “Tarzan’s Savage Fury.”