Vargas Diamond

Vargas Diamond
Weight726 carats (145.2 g)
Discovered1938
Cut byAdrian Graselly

The Vargas Diamond, discovered in the bed of the Rio Santo Antonio in Brazil on August 13, 1938 (July 1938 according to Ball & Kerr) by Joaquim Venancio Tiago and Manoel Miguel Domingues. It was 726.6 carats (145.32 g) when pulled out of the ground.

The diamond has been in the possession of Harry Winston, a jeweler from New York, who purchased it for $700,000. It was the largest known uncut diamond in the world, but since there was no market for a diamond of this size, it was cut into 23 pieces, including the 48.26-carat (9.652 g) emerald cut diamond named "President Vargas", after the former Brazilian president, Getúlio Vargas. The cutting of the stone was operated in 1941 in Winston's NY Fifth Avenue atelier. 15 months were required. Though 50% of the stone became dust during the cutting, the sales value of the stones reached $2 million. The stone was cut by Adrian Grasselly.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fabulous Vargas Diamond Severed". St. Petersburg Times. UP. July 24, 1941. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Sydney H. Ball & Paul F. Kerr (1941) The Vargas Diamond, pp. 7–8. Gemological Institute of America, US, Vol. 3, No. 9 (Spring 1941)
  3. ↑ "N. Y. Diamond Merchant Has Passion For Gems". St Petersburg Times. AP. November 10, 1958. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 "CUTTING IS STARTED ON VARGAS DIAMOND; Expert on Task Is So Jittery He Has Lived on Cigars and Black Coffee for 3 Weeks SHATTERING IS FEARED Blade Sawing World's Largest Carbon 'Egg' Is .0035 Inch Thick -- Long Job Due". The New York Times. 1941-04-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
  5. 1 2 TIME (1941-04-21). "Art: Little Ones Out of Big". TIME. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
  6. ↑ Original web design for Original-diamonds.com tm (1938-08-13). "Famous Diamonds | Vargas". Original-Diamonds. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  7. ↑ Bainbridge, John; Maloney, Russell (1941-07-26). "Moment in History". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2026-09-23.

Further reading