We recently received a call from one of our London customers who happens to be a self-proclaimed ‘magpie’ and a prolific jewellery collector.
She sadly explained that a distant relation had unexpectedly passed away and left her a substantial amount of money in her will. She inquired if next time we were in London, could we arrange a private consultation to assist her with purchasing a large diamond. This she explained was to ‘commemorate the life and memory’ of her deceased aunty.
We met up and over lunch she wished to inquire about purchasing a large diamond solitaire ring.
The terminology used was that she was after ‘a whopper’ and ‘the bigger the better’. Following the lunch, I explored the options using our contacts at both Hatton Garden and Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
A dealer explained that he was travelling to Antwerp and would see what ‘flash for cash’ eyebright diamonds were about at the right price. On his return he mentioned that he had bought several large diamonds all at the right money, and would allow us to take them to London so that our customer could choose between them.
“We met up and over lunch she wished to inquire about purchasing a large diamond solitaire ring”
I arranged another meeting in London a short time later and took several diamonds with me for her perusal. She was very taken aback by one particular diamond. As she put it: ‘My, that’s the kind of whopper I was seeking.’
The diamond in question happened to measure 11.93mm x 17.89mm and was 15.53 carats. A whopper indeed, the certified brilliant cut diamond was graded as Colour Hand Clarity SI1. The diamond also had very good cut and polish gradings with excellent symmetry. The diamond was lab tested and originated from central Botswana and almost certainly from the Orapa diamond mine. The Orapa diamond mine is the world’s largest diamond mine by area. The mine is in a town in the Central District of Botswana about 150 miles west of the city of Francistown.
Orapa translates as ‘resting place for lions’ and is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana.
The mine was discovered on March 1, 1967, a year after Botswana’s independence, by a team of De Beers geologists, including Manfred Marx, Jim Gibson and led by Doctor Gavin Lamont. It is the oldest of four mines operated by the company, and began its mining operations in July 1971.
Orapa is an open style of a pit mine and is the largest diamond mine in the world by area, located on two kimberlite pipes that converge near the surface. It operates seven days a week, and currently produces approximately 10.8 million carats (2,160 kg) of diamonds a year. The mine was expanded in 1999, doubling its previous capacity.
Our particular diamond was then placed into a classic six claw collet setting in 950 platinum. Delighted with her new purchase, the buyer has now mentioned she may be in the market for a matching pendant.
If you have any diamond jewellery for sale or wish to enquire regarding a private commission of any size and value please contact James in store at your convenience. We cater for all budgets up to and including the refreshingly expensive.