Star of the South
Diamond
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Key Takeaways
- The Star of the South , also known as 'Limar', is a diamond found in Brazil in July 1853.
- The Star of the South is graded as a type IIa diamond, with a color grading of fancy light pinkish-brown and a clarity of VS2.
- It has passed through the hands of many owners, including the Maharaja of princely Baroda State in India, and its last known purchase was by Cartier, the French luxury jeweler around 2002, when it was sold to them by Rustomjee Jamsetjee of Mumbai.
- This gives the diamond its light pinkish-brown hue.
- It was handed over to her master, Casimiro de Moraes, who rewarded her for finding the diamond by granting her freedom and a pension for life.
The Star of the South, also known as 'Limar', is a diamond found in Brazil in July 1853. The diamond is cut into a cushion shape and weighs 128.48 carats (25.696 g). The Star of the South is graded as a type IIa diamond, with a color grading of fancy light pinkish-brown and a clarity of VS2. At the time when Madi Magassa discovered it at Bagagem River, the diamond weighed 254.5 carats (50.90 g). It has passed through the hands of many owners, including the Maharaja of princely Baroda State in India, and its last known purchase was by Cartier, the French luxury jeweler around 2002, when it was sold to them by Rustomjee Jamsetjee of Mumbai. The light reflected by the diamond is white, and the refracted light is of a rose tint. This gives the diamond its light pinkish-brown hue.
History
The diamond was found by Madi Magassa in 1853, at the Bagagem River in the city now called Estrela do Sul Diamond Mines in Brazil. It was handed over to her master, Casimiro de Moraes, who rewarded her for finding the diamond by granting her freedom and a pension for life. Casimiro de Moraes later sold it for £3,000, a price far lower than its actual value. The buyer deposited the diamond at the Bank of Rio de Janeiro for £30,000.
The uncut diamond was passed through the hands of several buyers, until it was bought by Costers of Amsterdam for £35,000. It was then cut into an oval cushion shape by a cutter named Voorzanger, renowned for having been one of the two men who refashioned the Koh-i-Noor.
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