The Kimberley Diamond

The Kimberley Diamond was originally a 490-carat rough stone, champagne colored and named after the Kimberley Mine in South Africa. It was first cut into a 70 carats diamond in 1921, and in 1958 the Kimberley Diamond was recut by its owners, Baumgold Bros., New York City, to improve the proportions and increase brilliancy. The new shape turned out to be a beautiful emerald shape and weighted 55.09 carats. It is one of the most far-famed emerald-cut diamonds in the world.  

This emerald cut was initially known as ‘step cut’ and was perfectly suited for emeralds, hence the name emerald cut. The emerald cut consists of 58 facets, 8 girdles, 25 crowns and 25 pavilions. The shapes can vary from squares to rectangles. Later this emerald cut was used while shaping hard stones and so it was also applied in case of the diamonds.

The Kimberley Diamond is very shining and has an effulgence quality as the bigger facets act as mirrors, reflecting the rays of light.

Baumgold Bros. sold the stone to an undisclosed collector from Texas in 1971. 

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