The Jonker
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
was found at the Elandsfontein mine in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
by Johannes Jacobus Jonker on 17 January 1934. The diamond was 726 carats, which at the time was the fourth largest uncut gem ever found.
Discovery
The diamond was discovered by South African farmer Johannes Jacobus Jonker on 17 January 1934.
The diamond was first purchased by Joseph Bastiaenen, an agent of the Diamond Corporation Ltd, a company owned by
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (22 May 1880 – 25 November 1957), KStJ was a diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa.
Career
Ernest Oppenh ...
. In 1935 it was purchased by
Harry Winston
Harry Winston (March 1, 1896December 8, 1978) was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchang ...
, a New York diamond dealer, for 150,000 pounds. Harry Winston toured the United States with the diamond that was photographed with a number of stars such as
Claudette Colbert and
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
.
Cut
After contemplating the diamond for almost a year, Winston chose
Lazare Kaplan to study the Jonker diamond.
Lazare Kaplan was chosen to cut the diamond into several gemstones. The process of examining the diamond to determine the optimal cuts took place over the course of several months. On 27 April 1936, the first cut was made which cut off a 35-carat section, finally ending with the diamond being cut into 13 pieces. The largest piece produced the Jonker I, a 142.90 ct D-color flawless diamond which was later re-cut to 125.35 carats.
Jonker I
In 1949
King Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 193 ...
purchased the Jonker I, but after he was deposed and exiled in 1952 the gem was lost. After a number of years the gem reappeared in the ownership of
Queen Ratna of Nepal.
The last known location of the Jonker I was in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in 1977 when it was sold to an anonymous buyer for $2,259,000.
See also
*
List of diamonds
*
List of largest rough diamonds
This is a partial list of the largest non-synthetic diamonds with a rough stone (uncut) weight of over 200 carats (40 grams). The list is not intended to be complete – e.g., the Cullinan (formerly Premier) mine alone has produced 135 diamond ...
Further reading
*Shipley, Robert M. (1935). ''Jonker Diamond in U.S.'', pp. 3.
Gemological Institute of America, USA, Vol. 1, No. 9 (May–June)
*Kaplan, Lazare (1936). ''Cleaving the Jonker Diamond'', pp. 11–12.
Gemological Institute of America, USA, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer 1936)
*Shipley, Robert M. (1937). ''Important Diamonds of the World'', pp. 7–8.
Gemological Institute of America, USA, Vol. 2, No. 6 (Summer 1937)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonker
1934 in South Africa
Diamonds originating in South Africa
Individual diamonds