Paragon (diamond)

A paragon is a perfect diamond — flawless and without inclusions. In the 16th century, a mass of 12 carats was sufficient for this title but now, the threshold lies at 100 carats.[1]

The largest flawless diamond in the world is known as The Paragon — a D-class gem weighing 137.82 carats,[2] which is the 10th largest white diamond in the world. [3] The gem was mined in Brazil and attracted attention for being an exceptional white, flawless stone of great size.[4] Mayfair jewellers, Graff Diamonds,[5] bought it in Antwerp, cut it into an unusual 7-sided kite shield configuration and set it in a necklace which separates to both necklace and bracelet lengths. Apart from the main stone, this necklace also contains rare pink, blue and yellow diamonds making a total mass of 190.27 carats.[6] The necklace has associations with the end of the millennium and was worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell at a prestigious diamond gala held by De Beers and Versace at Syon House in 1999.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Joan Younger Dickinson (2001), The Book of Diamonds, p. 215
  2. ↑ Graff Jewelry Company, LUXemag, 21 June 2009
  3. ↑ Dan McDougal (19 December 2008), The world's largest white diamonds, Daily Mail
  4. ↑ Dictionary of Gems and Gemology, Springer, 2005, pp. 558–619, doi:10.1007/3-540-27269-0_16, ISBN 978-3-540-23970-3
  5. ↑ Murphy, Robert (March 1, 2008), "In the cut", W
  6. ↑ Julia Neel (12 August 2009), "The Paragon", Vogue
  7. ↑ Suzy Menkes (June 15, 1999), Those Sparkling Celebrities

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