In gemmology the term paragon refers to any flawless diamond with a mass of at least 100 carats. Currently the largest flawless natural diamond (as opposed to

synthetic diamond A synthetic diamond or laboratory-grown diamond (LGD), also called a lab-grown, laboratory-created, man-made, artisan-created, artificial, or cultured diamond, is a diamond that is produced in a controlled technological process, in contrast to ...

) in the world is known as The Paragon, a D-color gem weighing , and the tenth largest natural white diamond in the world. The gem was mined in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and attracted attention for being an exceptional white, flawless stone of great size. The

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

-based jeweller Graff Diamonds acquired the stone in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, cut it into an unusual seven-sided

kite shield A kite shield is a large, almond-shaped shield rounded at the top and curving down to a point or rounded point at the bottom. The term "kite shield" is a reference to the shield's unique shape, and is derived from its supposed similarity to a fly ...

configuration, and set it in a

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sy ...

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 . The necklace has associations with the end of the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

and was worn by model

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British supermodel. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was th ...

at a diamond gala held by

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

and

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

at Syon House in 1999.

References

{{reflist

External links

entry at The World of Famous Diamonds
Individual diamonds Individual necklaces Diamonds originating in Brazil

See also

References

External links