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COLORED DIAMONDS
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"white," and have been discovered to possess minor traces of impurities which have the effect of coloring the otherwise colorless stones.
In
the United States in 1941 a campaign^ was launched to popularize the
hitherto unpopular brown diamond. The theme was "Brown Diamonds for
Men." It is too early at this stage to say whether that campaign will
succeed. As a novelty, it should. It is possible that those behind the
campaign are seeking not only to establish it as "an enduring
possession" but also as a means of making men more diamond-conscious
and aware of the diamond as the most eminent of male jewelry
adornments. Why men in recent years have shied away from wearing
diamonds is one of those mysteries only partially explained in this
book. The diamond, as we have seen, originally was a manly stone, worn
by men only.
Brown
stones, so far as is known, are not to be found among the great
diamonds of the world, although yellow, which in the range of shades is
a descendant of brown, has been popular. The Shah, of 88.7 carats, you
will recall, is of "yellowish water," very pure yellow. The 137V2 Florentine
was of a citron yellow or light greenish yellow. The Stewart, found in
South Africa in 1872, is slightly yellowish. It once sold for $45,000,
weighed 296 metric carats, and was cut into a stone weighing 123 metric
carats. Its present whereabouts are unknown. The famous Tiffany stone,
owned by Tiffany & Company of New York, is the outstanding colored
stone. Its 101 facets were placed upon it because, being yellow, these
"gave it a smoldering fire." It weighs 128.5 metric carats. The Dresden
Green, bought by Augustus the Strong of Saxony, is apple green in
color, weighs 41 metric carats.
The most famous colored stone in the United States is
(219)
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