The Polar Star diamond is a 41.28 carat brilliant cushion-cut diamond, from the

Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

region in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Its lower pavilion is arranged as an eight-pointed star, hence its name, from

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

, the Northern Star. It is claimed that "the symmetry of the cut is so precise that it can be balanced on its culet" It is a rare type IIa diamond, meaning that it contains no nitrogen or boron. It is likely D or E color ("colourless"), with a trace of pink, and has blue fluorescence.

History

The first record of the diamond's existence is around 1806 when it was owned by

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

(eldest brother of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

), who is reported to have purchased it from Morton for 52,500 francs. It is likely that he disposed of the diamond after abdicating and around the time of his settlement in the United States. It was bought in the 1820s by the Yusupov family (probably by Princess Tatiana Yusupov, wife of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov), whereby it passed to

Prince Felix Yusupov Knyaz Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (; – 27 September 1967) was a Russian aristocrat from the House of Yusupov who is best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin and for marrying Princess Irina ...

, participant in the assassination of

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final ye ...

. After the Russian Revolution, Yusupov and his family fled, taking the Polar Star, along with other gems such as La Pelegrina, the

Sultan of Morocco This is a list of rulers of Morocco since 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Morocco is Mohammed VI of Morocco, Mohammed ...

and the Ram's head. To help sustain his family in exile, he sold the diamond to

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

in 1924, who in turn sold the diamond in 1928 to Lady Deterding, the wife of the oil magnate Sir Henri Deterding, founder of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

. Following instructions from her will, Christie's auctioned the 'Polar Star' in Geneva on the 20 November 1980. It was bought by a Sri Lankan jeweller, Razeen Salih for 8 million Swiss Francs ($4.6 million) for the gem, which at the time was a record. The record was acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records, as the highest price per carat for a diamond at the time. Mr Salih's and his partner Sheikha Mahdi's company Mujoharat Al Sharq, in Jeddah purchased the 'Polar Star' for a client said to be a senior Saudi Arabian finance industry official.

References

Diamonds originating in India Individual diamonds {{gemology-stub

History

See also

References