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Harry Winston (March 1, 1896 – December 28,
1978) was an American jeweller. He donated the Hope Diamond to the
Smithsonian Institution in 1958
after owning it for a decade, and traded the Portuguese
Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963.
History
Winston has said: "People will stare. Make it worth their
while."
Winston was among the most famous jewelers in the world,
well-known to the general public. In the 1953 musical film Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes, the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's
Best Friend" includes the spoken interjection "Talk to me,
Harry Winston, tell me all about it!" The Lauren
Weisberger comic novel Chasing Harry Winston was
published in May 2008.
Today, the Harry Winston Diamond
Corporation operates eight salons in the U.S., in New York, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Dallas, Honolulu, Bal Harbour, Chicago, and Costa Mesa,
California and eleven salons in other countries.
Legendary
Gems[1]
- The Hope
(45.52 carats (9.10 g), Fancy Dark Grayish-Blue, antique
cushion brilliant)
- Porter Rhodes (53 carats (11 g), colorless, Asscher
cut)
- The
Portuguese (127.01 carats (25.40 g), faint yellow
with strong blue fluorescence, antique emerald cut)
- The Crown of Charlemagne (37.05 carats (7.41 g), sky
blue, Old European cut brilliant)
- The
Briolette of India (90.38 carats (18.08 g),
colorless, briolette cut)
- The Qamar-I-Sultana (44 carats (8.8 g), colorless,
marquise cut)
- The Arcots (33.70 and 23.65 carats (4.73 g), recut by
Winston to 31.01 and 18.85 carats (3.77 g), respectively.
Stones were originally thought to be a match but when Winston
bought them, removed them from their setting and discovered they
weren't, he decided to recut them slightly to improve their clarity
and brilliance. Both were either colorless or near-colorless, and
antique pear-shaped brilliants.)
- The Anastasia (Three emerald cuts weighing 42.95, 30.90 and
22.88 carats (4.58 g), all D color and Flawless clarity.
Cut from a rough crystal weighing 307.30 carats (61.46 g)
Winston had purchased in 1972, largest gem named after Anastasia
Nikolaevna, daughter of Czar Nicholas II.
- The Ashoka (Originally 42.47 carats (8.49 g),
colorless, modified elongated cushion brilliant. Purchased by
Winston from an Indian dealer in 1947; subsequently sold and
repurchased several times by the firm. Stone was recut slightly in
1977 from its original weight of 42.47 carats (8.49 g)
before it was sold again as a ring.)
- The Cornflower Blue (31.93 carats (6.39 g) pear
brilliant; 12.39 carats (2.48 g) round brilliant, blue,
cut from 158 carats (32 g) South African rough which
Winston purchased in 1958. The larger stone was sold in 1969 as the
pendant for a diamond necklace. Winston repurchased it two years
later, then sold it to a Middle Eastern client. The round brilliant
was set as a ring and sold in 1969. In 1987 the pear brilliant was
auctioned in Geneva,
Switzerland.
- Countess Széchényi (62.05 carats (12.41 g), D color,
pear-shaped brilliant. Purchased by Winston in 1959 from namesake
and recut to a flawless 59.38 carats (11.88 g). Sold to
an American industrialist in 1966.)
- The Deepdene (104.52 carats
(20.90 g), yellow, antique cushion brilliant. Purchased by
Winston in 1954 from Cary W. Bok, then sold the following year to
Mrs. Eleanor Loder of Canada. Resurfaced in 1971 and put up for
auction at Christie's in Geneva. This stone is also the
largest known diamond to receive irradiation treatment, which
improved its color.
- The Deal Sweetener (45.31 carats (9.06 g) plus four
smaller stones, D color and Flawless, emerald cut. In 1974 Winston
bought a large parcel of diamonds worth $24,500,000—at that time
the largest individual sale of diamonds in history. Harry Oppenheimer, head of De Beers Consolidated Mines
Ltd., arranged the transaction. When Winston asked Oppenheimer,
"How about a little something to sweeten the deal?" Harry
Oppenheimer pulled a 181 carats (36 g) rough diamond out
of his pocket and rolled it across the table. Winston picked up the
stone, smiled, and said simply, "Thanks." It was cut into five
gems, the largest being named the Deal Sweetener. Other gems cut
from the crystal: An emerald cut of 24.67 carats
(4.93 g), plus three pear shapes of 10.80, 4.19 and
1.45 carats (290 mg), respectively. All were sold that
same year.)
- The Blue Heart (30.82 carats (6.16 g), blue,
heart-shaped brilliant. Cut by the firm of Atanik Eknayan in Neuilly,
France sometime before Cartier sold it to the Unzue family of
Argentina in 1910. It reappeared in Paris in 1953 where it was
purchased by an important European titled family, then purchased by
Harry Winston in 1959. Winston mounted it in a ring and sold it to
Marjorie Merriweather Post,
who lated donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.)
- Étoile du Désert (50.67 carats (10.13 g), D-color,
pear-shaped brilliant. Acquired by Winston in 1977 and mounted in a
diamond necklace. Sold the same year to a Saudi Arabian prince. The
necklace contained over 250 carats (50 g) of diamonds,
among them a 16 carats (3.2 g) D-color Flawless clarity
marquise cut.)
- The Idol's Eye (70.20 carats (14.04 g), Light Blue,
semi-triangular modified antique brilliant. Allegedly first seen in
1607 when the East
India Company seized the stone from its owner, a Persian prince
named Ragab, as payment for debts. Resurfaced in 1906 in the
possession of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The stone, along
with the Hope Diamond and Star of the East, were stolen from the
sultan by his messenger and sold to French pawn shops. The stones
were intended to provide a comfortable retirement for the sultan.
Appeared at the June 1909 auction held in Paris by gem
dealer/collector Selim Habib, where it was purchased by a Spanish
nobleman. It then came into the possession of a London bank and
eventually was bought by a Dutch diamond dealer, from whom Winston
purchased the stone in November 1946. Winston sold the diamond in
1947 to Mrs. May Bonfils Stanton, daughter of the publisher and
co-founder of the Denver Post. It was mounted as the
center stone in a diamond necklace with eighty-six other diamonds
totalling 35 carats (7.0 g). In 1963, after Mrs.
Stanton's death, the gem was sold at auction in New York City. Legendary jeweler Laurence
Graff of London also owned the stone.)
- The Indore Pears (46.95 and 46.70 carats (9.34 g) but
later recut to 44.62 and 44.18 carats (8.84 g)
respectively, colorless, both pear-shaped antique brilliants.
Originally owned by Maharaja Tukoji Rao III Holkar who was forced to abdicate due to a
scandal in 1926. Despite his abdication he remained very wealthy
and retained the diamonds. He married American Nancy Anne Miller in
1928 amid much international publicity. Miller converted to Hinduism and after marrying
was known as Maharani Shamista Devi Holkar. Winston
purchased the two diamonds in 1946 from the former maharaja and his
wife, both of whom had worn the stones on many occasions. The gems
were recut to 44.62 and 44.18 carats (8.84 g) and were
featured as his 'Court of Jewels' exhibit. Winston sold the gems in
1953 to a client from Philadelphia and repurchased them in 1958.
They were then sold to a New York client and were once again
purchased in 1976 and sold to a member of a royal family. In 1981
and again in 1987 the two famous diamonds were sold at auction in
Geneva.)
- The Jonker (Twelve gems, the largest weighing
125.35 carats (25.07 g), colorless, various shapes.
Discovered as a 726 carats (145 g) rough crystal in
January 1934 and purchased by Winston from the Diamond Producers
Association in London in 1935. It was the first time a major
diamond crystal was cleaved in the United States. The largest
diamond, the Jonker I, was a 142.90 carats (28.58 g)
emerald cut, but it was recut in 1937 to 125.35 carats
(25.07 g) to give it a more oblong outline. Winston is said to
have loved the stone and refused to sell it for many years, using
it instead for display at various charitable exhibitions, set in a
platinum necklace with 110
baguette-cut diamonds. He sold the gem in 1951 to King Farouk of
Egypt, who went into exile the
following year, taking the gem with him. It was unheard of until
1959 when it was rumored that Queen Ratna of Nepal had been seen
wearing it. It was later confirmed that Farouk did indeed sell the
diamond to Nepal for a reported price of $100,000. It was later
sold in 1974 at a Hong Kong auction for $4 million. A marquise
shape and ten emerald cuts comprise the other diamonds cut from the
crystal, the larger gems included emerald cuts of 41.30 (known as
the Jonker II), 35.45 (Jonker III), 30.70 (Jonker IV), 25.66
(Jonker V) and 24.41 (Jonker VI) carats. Jonkers IV and VI were
sold to American clients while the other three were sold to Indian
maharajas. The smallest Jonker satellite stone, Jonker XII, a
5.30 carats (1,060 mg) emerald cut, was auctioned in New
York in October 1975.)
- The Liberator (Four gems weighing 38.88, 18.12, 8.93 and
1.44 carats (290 mg), D color, three emerald cuts and a
marquise, respectively. Winston purchased the 155 carats
(31 g) Brazilian crystal in 1943 and cut four stones from it.
The three smaller gems were set in a clip and the largest was
mounted in a ring and sold to the forementioned Mrs. May Bonfils
Stanton, in 1946. In 1962 Winston reacquired the diamond from Mrs.
Stanton's estate and had it recut from its original weight of
39.80 carats (7.96 g) down to 38.88 carats
(7.78 g). He sold it to an American client in 1966, who sold
it at auction in New York on December 7, 1972.)
- Louis XIV (58.60 carats (11.72 g), D color and
Flawless clarity, antique pear-shaped brilliant. Reportedly the gem
belonged to King Louis XIV of France but nothing of
its history before Harry Winston bought it can be verified. Winston
purchased the diamond in 1958 from the estate of Chrysler heiress Thelma C.
Foy. He then had it recut from 62.00 carats (12.40 g)
down to a flawless 58.60 carats (11.72 g). He also
obtained a 151 carats (30 g) oval sapphire from the Foy
estate. In 1959 the diamond was mounted as the center stone in a
tiara that also contained six smaller pear-shaped diamonds totally
22 carats (4.4 g), and 233 smaller diamonds totalling
120 carats (24 g). The diamond was exhibited at the Louvre in 1962, along with the
Hope Diamond, as part of the Ten Centuries of French Jewelry
exhibition. In 1963 it was removed from the tiara and sold together
with the 61.80 carats (12.36 g) Winston Diamond to Mrs.
Eleanor Loder of Canada, who wore the two stones in a pair of
earrings. The Louis XIV was sold again in Geneva in 1981 from Mrs.
Loder's estate.)
- Lesotho (Eighteen different diamonds, pale brown, various
shapes. The diamond was discovered by Ernestine Ramaboa in May 1967
at the Letseng-la-Terai diggings in Lesotho. The crystal was sold at auction in Maseru to a South African dealer
who then sold it to a European dealer. It was later purchased in
Geneva by Winston. In 1969, he had it cut into eighteen stones
totalling 242.50 carats (48.50 g). The largest three gems
were a 71.73 carats (14.35 g) emerald-cut, a
60.67 carats (12.13 g) emerald cut, and a
40.42 carats (8.08 g) marquise brilliant, named Lesotho
I, II and III, respectively. The 40 carats (8.0 g)
marquise was bought by Aristotle Onassis for his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
The gem was sold at her estate sale auction for over $2
million.
- McLean Diamond (31.26 carats (6.25 g), blue-white
colorless, antique cushion brilliant. The diamond was purchased by
Harry Winston from the estate of Evalyn Walsh McLean along with
other pieces of jewelry including the Hope Diamond and the Star of
the East. He sold the McLean Diamond to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1950.
The Duchess, a collector of jewelry, wore the stone often and owned
it until her death in 1986. It was sold at her estate sale auction
in April 1987 for $3.15 million.
- The Mabel Boll (44.76 carats (8.95 g), near
colorless, elongated emerald-cut. The diamond originally weighed
46.57 carats (9.31 g) and was owned by Mabel Boll, the
much-married American socialite whos name was often in the news in
the 1920s. Boll collected nicknames like she collected jewelry: in
1921 she was hailed by newspapers as "Broadway's most beautiful
blonde." She married Colombian coffee king Hernando Rocha in 1922, who
presented her with a million dollars' worth of jewelry, mostly in
the form of diamonds. The press referred to her as the
"$250,000-a-day bride." She gained her most last nickname, "Queen
of Diamonds", because she often appeared in public wearing all her
jewelry. It was said that the rings she wore on her left hand alone
were worth more than $400,000, which would equate to at least $4 or
$5 million in today's dollars. When she died in 1949 Winston
purchased the large emerald-cut diamond. According to Boll, the
stone had originally been bought from Tiffany & Co. Winston slightly
recut the stone, which measured 1⅜ by ⅝ inches, reducing it to
45.67 carats (9.13 g) and set it in a ring. It was then
featured in his Court of Jewels exhibition before being sold to a
New York client in 1954. When the client died in 1965, Winston
reacquired the diamond to a flawless 44.76 carats
(8.95 g), and sold it the following year to a European client.
At this time it was designed to be worn as a ring or as the center
stone to a bracelet set with an addition 112 smaller emerald-cut
diamonds totalling 65.96 carats (13.19 g).
- The Nassak
(43.38 carats (8.68 g), colorless, emerald cut. The
Nassak has an Indian origin. It was originally a triangular
90 carats (18 g) Mogul-cut stone, similar in appearance
to the Taj-I-Mah Diamond. The stone was supposedly set as the eye
of an idol of the god Shiva.
After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in
1817-18, the diamond was seized by the Governor-General, Lord
Hastings, and became part of the loot taken from India. Named
the Nassak, it was sent to England. It was purchased at auction by
crown jewelers Rundell and Bridge in 1831 during a
period of severe economic depression. They had the stone recut to
80.59 carats (16.12 g) to give it greater brilliance, and
in the process it became a triangular brilliant with lots of extra
pavilion facets. In 1837, it was sold at auction to the Marquess of
Westminster (he also bought the Arcots Diamonds and the King
George IV Diamond at the same time). The Marquess mounted it in the
hilt of his dress sword. The diamond remained in the Westminster
family for nearly a century. In the 1920s,it was sold to a Parisian
jeweler, who brought it to America in 1926 for display. The stone
later returned to Paris where it was bought by Winston in 1940, who
had the stone recut to its present flawless 43.38 carats
(8.68 g) emerald cut shape. He then sold it to a New York
jewelry firm in 1942. Mrs. William B. Leeds of New York purchased
the gem in 1944 and wore it in a ring. It was sold at auction in
New York in 1970.)
- Napoleon Diamond Necklace
(various stones, colorless, antique cushion brilliants, pear-shaped
antique cushion brilliants, briolette cuts. The forty-seven
diamonds in this necklace weigh a total of 275 carats
(55 g). Napoleon gave it to his wife, Empress Marie-Louise, a
Habsburg princess, to celebrate the birth
of their son in March 1811. When Marie-Louise died in 1847 the
necklace passed to her nephew's wife, Archduchess Sophie. Sophie
left it to her third son, Archduke Karl Ludwig,
upon her death in 1872. Karl Ludwig's grandson, Franz Joseph II,
Prince of Liechtenstein, sold the necklace to French collector
in 1948. Harry Winston bought the piece in 1960 and sold it to
Marjorie Merriweather Post two years later. Post willed the
necklace to the Smithsonian Institution, which received it in
1973.)
- The Nepal (79.41 carats (15.88 g), colorless,
pear-shaped antique brilliant. Not much is known about this gem. It
is thought to be a Golconda diamond and was owned by Jang Bahadur, the
Prime Minister of Nepal, in the late 19th century and remained in
the hands of Nepalese royalty until the mid-20th century. Winston
purchased the diamond from an Indian dealer in 1957. At this time
he had it slightly recut from its original 79.50 carats
(15.90 g) weight. It was set in a pendant/brooch combination
and was featured in an article on diamonds and gems in the April
1958 issue of National
Geographic magazine and then exhibited at London's "Ageless
Diamond" exhibition the following year. That same year, the stone
was sold to a European client as the pendant to a v-shaped diamond
necklace that also contained 145 round brilliants weighing a total
of 71.44 carats (14.29 g).)
- The Niarchos (128.25 carats (25.65 g), D color and
Flawless clarity, pear-shaped brilliant. The gem was discovered as
a 427 carats (85 g) crystal at the Premier Mine in South
Africa, in 1954. In 1956 it was sold to Winston as part of an $8.4
million parcel. The largest gem cut from it is a 128.25 carats
(25.65 g) pear-shaped diamond. The same year it was purchased
by Stavros
Niarchos, Greek shipbuilder and industrialist, whose name it
currently bears. Also cut from the rough were a 27.62 carats
(5.52 g) marquise and a 40 carats (8.0 g) emerald
cut. They were also purchased by Niarchos.
- The
Oppenheimer (253.70 carats (50.74 g), light yellow,
uncut crystal. The Oppenheimer was discovered in 1964 at the
Dutoitspan Mine near Kimberley,
South Africa. The stone is noted for being extraordinarily
well-formed. Winston purchased the gem the same year it was found
and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in memory of Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, chairman of the
board of De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd from 1929 until 1957.
- The Pohl (38.10 carats (7.62 g), D color and Flawless
clarity, emerald cut. The Pohl was a 287 carats (57 g)
crystal discovered in January 1934 at the Elandsfontein diggings
near Pretoria, South Africa. The Jonker Diamond was discovered at
the same mine that very same month. Harry Winston bought the Pohl
at the same time he bought the Jonker, and cut it into several
stones. The largest is a D color Flawless clarity emerald cut
weighing 38.10 carats (7.62 g). The gem was sold in 1943
to Chrysler heiress
Bernice Chrysler Garbish. It reappeared in October 1976 when it was
auctioned in New York on behalf of the estate of Bernice
Garbish.
- Star of Sierra Leone
968.9 carats (193.8 g) - The Star of Sierra Leone yielded
17 finished diamonds, of which the largest was a flawless
53.96 carats (10.79 g) pear-shaped stone.
Salons
References
- ^
"Harry Winston The Ultimate Jeweler", third edition, 1988, by
Laurence S. Krashes, edited by Ronald Winston. ISBN
0-87311-018-8
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