Star of the South: A Historic 128 ct Diamond
Photo micrograph by Christopher P. Smith; magnified 7x.
The Star of South is one world’s most famous diamonds. Discovered in 1853, it became the first Brazilian diamond to receive international acclaim. The article presents the first complete gemological characterization of this historic 128.48 ct diamond. The clarity grade was determined to be VS2 and the color grade, Fancy Light pinkish brown. Overall, the gemological and spectroscopic characteristics of this nominal type IIa diamond— including graining and stain patterns, UV-Vis-NIR and mid- to near-infrared absorption spectra, and Raman photoluminescence— are consistend with those of other natural type IIa diamonds of similar color.
One distinctive feature of the Star of the South is the prominent irregular strain patterns, which exhibited purple-pink, orange, yellow, green and blue interference colors. Such strain patterns more typically are associated with type Ia natural-color brown or pink diamonds, although they are encountered in some type IIa diamonds. ALso seen here is the larger of two indented naturals. The triangular patterns reveal the octahedral orientation of this remnant of the original crystal surface.
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