The Jones Diamond, also known as the Punch Jones Diamond, The Grover Jones Diamond, or The Horseshoe Diamond, was a 34.48 carat (6.896 g)
alluvial
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
found in
Peterstown,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
by members of the Jones family. It remains the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.
Diamond Characteristics
The bluish-white diamond weighed 34.48 carats (6.896 g), measured across and possessed 12 diamond-shaped faces.
History of the diamond
The diamond was discovered by William P. “Punch” Jones and his father, Grover C. Jones, Sr. while pitching horseshoes in April 1928. Believed to be simply a piece of shiny quartz common to the area, the stone was kept in a wooden cigar box inside a tool shed for fourteen years throughout the Great Depression. In 1942, Punch brought the stone to Roy J. Holden, a geology professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) – more commonly known as
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
– in nearby
Blacksburg,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Holden, shocked at Punch's discovery, authenticated the diamond and the diamond was sent to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
where it remained for many years for display and safekeeping. In February 1964, the Jones family brought the diamond back and placed it in a
safe deposit box in the First Valley National Bank in
Rich Creek,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.
In 1984, the Joneses auctioned the diamond through
Sotheby's
Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
auction house in New York to an agent representing a lawyer in an undisclosed east Asian country.
West Virginia State Historical Marker
The text of the historical marker located in Peterstown, West Virginia reads the following, although some of the information is outdated as Mr. and Mrs. Jones are no longer living or in possession of the diamond (see above):
See also
*
List of diamonds
Diamond (gemstone), Diamonds occur naturally and vary in size, color, and quality, so the largest of a particular color may not be large in absolute terms, but may still be considered very desirable. Diamonds may also have high valuations in sal ...
Further reading
* Shipley, Robert M. (1944) ''Gemological Digest: Punch Jones Diamond'', pp. 169 (PDF page 13)
Gemological Institute of America, USA, Vol. 4, No. 11 (Fall 1944)
Sources
"Virginia Diamonds," ''Virginia Division of Mineral Resources''*Sweet, P.C., 1996, ''Diamonds in Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Virginia Minerals'', v. 42, n. 4, p. 33-40.
*Charles B. Motley, ''Gleanings of Monroe County West Virginia History'' (Radford, Va: Commonwealth Press, Inc., 1973) 122–124.
*
''West Virginia Highway Markers Database''"Diamonds," ''Virginia Division of Mineral Resources''
{{Archive url, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115174653/http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DMR3/dmrpdfs/DIAMONDS.pdf, date=2009-01-15
External links
Individual diamonds
Diamonds originating in the United States
Monroe County, West Virginia
1928 in West Virginia