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Lot Essay
GOLCONDA DIAMONDS
India’s legendary Golconda mines produced diamonds with a uniquely appealing pure, limpid and luminous quality. This aspect exists independently of a diamond’s precise colour or clarity grade. Instead, it transcended those objectively measurable criteria.
Light simply passes through a Golconda diamond in a uniquely recognisable way giving it a soft airiness unlike any other diamond. Golconda diamonds that still retain an antique cut hold a special fascination because irregular, older cuts with less facets show off their special luminousness better than modern cuts that are geared towards bringing out fire.
While the term “Golconda” refers primarily to diamonds mined in India before the 18th Century, it is today also used to define diamonds mined elsewhere that display the same optical features of the coveted Golconda gems. One of these is falling into the rare Type IIa category of diamonds which contain little if any nitrogen and comprise less than 2% of all gem diamonds. These are chemically very pure diamonds with exceptional transparency similar to the luminosity of Golconda diamonds.
India’s legendary Golconda mines produced diamonds with a uniquely appealing pure, limpid and luminous quality. This aspect exists independently of a diamond’s precise colour or clarity grade. Instead, it transcended those objectively measurable criteria.
Light simply passes through a Golconda diamond in a uniquely recognisable way giving it a soft airiness unlike any other diamond. Golconda diamonds that still retain an antique cut hold a special fascination because irregular, older cuts with less facets show off their special luminousness better than modern cuts that are geared towards bringing out fire.
While the term “Golconda” refers primarily to diamonds mined in India before the 18th Century, it is today also used to define diamonds mined elsewhere that display the same optical features of the coveted Golconda gems. One of these is falling into the rare Type IIa category of diamonds which contain little if any nitrogen and comprise less than 2% of all gem diamonds. These are chemically very pure diamonds with exceptional transparency similar to the luminosity of Golconda diamonds.