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The Legendary Amsterdam Black Diamond
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The Legendary Amsterdam Black Diamond
April 29, 2019 by EraGem
Black diamonds are extremely rare. Typically, they are small as they are in this gorgeous cultured
South Sea Pearl . However, the Amsterdam Black Diamond is legendary for its beauty and its size.
The legendary Amsterdam Black Diamond weighs an astonishing 33.74 carats. In comparison, the
black diamonds in this gorgeous cocktail ring weigh less than a quarter carat each. In
fact, together these 89 black diamonds add up to a total carat weight of 1.95.
Black Diamond Properties
Most black diamonds remain below 5 carats. A few, however, top the charts in size. Perhaps the
most famous is the Orlov Diamond, weighing 67.50 carats.
Black diamonds typically form as conglomerate crystals. This means that the entire diamond is
formed of multiple minuscule diamond crystals bonded tightly together.
However, the Amsterdam Black Diamond is extremely unusual. In fact, it represents one of only a
small handful of mono-crystalline blacks.
This means that the massive stone boasts only one crystal, just like its sisters, the flashing,
fiery white (colorless) diamonds.
Most fancy colored diamonds, like reds, greens, yellows, etc., obtain their color through
inclusions built into the crystal structure. Black diamonds, on the other hand, attain their
color from inclusions of dark-colored materials.
Black diamonds contain large cloud-like accumulations of graphite, pyrite, or hematite. These
accumulations typically distribute evenly throughout the stone.
Once again, the Amsterdam Black Diamond stands out. Rather than being evenly infiltrated, the
Amsterdam Black contains minuscule inclusions of graphite which have collected primarily in the
feathers of the stone.
In addition, the way the light travels through the unique mono-crystalline structure resembles
the way light diffuses through storm clouds, giving them their dark gray color.
Without the numerous micro-discontinuities in the body of the diamond (which do not contain
graphite), the diamond might have appeared colorless with black streaks or patches.
History of the Amsterdam Black Diamond
Found in the early 1970s, the Amsterdam Black originated in a diamond mine in South Africa. It
was discovered in a pile of mine bort, small industrial-grade diamonds typically crushed or
powdered for use as abrasives for cutting.
The rough weighed 55.85 carats. Fortuitously, an employee spotted it, sparing it an obscure fate.
The employee's mine supervisor agreed that it belonged with the other gem-grade diamonds
found in the region.
At that time, a representative from D. Drukker & Sons got a look at the rough stone. He
purchased it on the spot for an undisclosed price. It appears that D. Drukker & Sons worked
extensively with industrial diamonds. However, they also operated a jewelry store in Amsterdam,
D. Drukker & Zn.
While the master cutters from Amsterdam chose to shape the stone as an elegant pear, they took
a unique approach to enhance the stone's natural adamantine luster.
They doubled the usual number of facets for a pear cut, rendering a stunning gemstone featuring
145 facets. Upon its completion, its owners christened the diamond The Amsterdam Black
Diamond in honor of the City of Amsterdam's 700th anniversary.
The legendary diamond made its first public appearance in their jewelry store. At that time, they
set the diamond in a pendant and surrounded it with 15 cushion-cut white diamonds.
In 2001, the Amsterdam Black Diamond found itself on the block at Christie's Geneva. It sold for
an outstanding sum of $352,000.