The birth of Venus
One wonders what the frisson of excitement that ran through Graff Diamonds must have been like when a 357-carat rough diamond was unearthed at the famed Letšeng mine in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Even in its base form, it showed signs of outstanding colour, clarity and a quality of the highest standard, imbued with the potential – as Chairman Laurence Graff recognised – to make diamond history.
What makes Laurence Graff unique among diamond moguls is his willingness to take an exceptional rough diamond and cut it into a single large heart shape. Most dealers or executives would opt to cut several large D flawless gems from a single rough stone of this size and quality, but Graff likes to take risks and achieve the seemingly impossible.
Determined to unleash its inner beauty, the Graff team stepped up to the challenge of creating a phenomenal heart-shaped diamond, using advanced laser technology to make the initial cuts before putting it to the wheel. There was significant risk in the choice of the heart shape due to the large possibility of cracking and the fact that so much diamond is lost in the process. Since this type of cleaving and polishing had never before been accomplished, the Graff team had to construct special tools to execute the process. Countless hours of painstaking work, including a nail-biting operation to make the cleft between the two fully rounded spheres of the heart, paid off and the Graff Venus was born.
Taking 18 months from discovery to analysis, cutting and polishing, the Graff Venus is a miraculous example of diamond artistry at its absolute finest. The size of a walnut, it has a surprisingly mesmerising effect: each facet let through the light and gives it an almost watery appearance. Price is upon application, but the mammoth stone could very well exceed the US$57.5 million (RM242 million) paid for 14.62 carat Oppenheimer Blue this May, currently the most expensive gem ever sold at public auction. To put that in context, the 118.78 carat diamond is now the largest D Flawless heart-shape diamond to ever be cut and polished. Long may she reign.
