Tiffany Yellow Diamond

History

Discovered in South Africa around 1878, probably in the French-owned concession at Kimberley, the stone was purchased for $18,000 by the Paris agent of New York jeweler Charles Tiffany. The cutting team in Paris was supervised by the gemologist George Frederick Kunz (1856–1932), then a twenty-three-year-old at the start of his career who had just joined the firm. Kunz and his team studied the stone for a year before cutting began. The cut diamond was little publicized upon its arrival in New York in 1880, allegedly due to Tiffany’s fears that it might be just one among many yellowish diamonds recently coming from South Africa. However, its size and deep yellow color soon set it apart.

Never sold, the gem became part of Tiffany’s branding as a seller of high-end jewelry and diamonds, normally displayed at its main Manhattan store, but periodically showcased elsewhere.  It was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair,  the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, the Chicago Century of Progress in 1933-34 and the New York World's Fair in 1939-40. In 1971 it was brought to South Africa for the centennial of the Kimberley Mine, and in 1986 it was shown in London when Tiffany reopened their branch in Old Bond Street. In 2007, the gem was exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Jeffrey E. Post, the museum's gem curator, at the time noted that it was the largest diamond on display in the U.S. (The famous Hope Diamond in the Smithsonian collection is, at 45.5 carats, only one-third the mass.)

The Tiffany Yellow has been worn by only four persons. In addition to Whitehouse and Hepburn, it was worn with the 2012 necklace by Lady Gaga at the 2019 Academy Awards and by Beyoncé in a 2021 Tiffany ad campaign. Gal Gadot wore a Tiffany-made replica of the diamond and necklace in the 2022 film Death on the Nile, where the theft of the jewel is a key element in the plot.

References

References

1. Herbert Tillander, ''Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry: 1381-1910.'' (London: Art Books International, 1995), pp 158-159. Tillander describes the cuts in detail and stated that no major gemmological organization had formally examined and described the Tiffany Yellow.  George F. Kunz, “[https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ns-10.235.69 Four Large South African Diamonds],” ''Science'', Issue 235 (5 August 1887), pp 69-70.
2. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2018/08/14/tiffany-to-renovate-its-new-york-flagship-store/ Tiffany To Renovate Its New York Flagship Store]
3. Tillander, Kunz. Scott Sucher, “[https://www.jewellermagazine.com/Article/531/Tiffany-Yellow-World-Famous-Diamonds Tiffany Yellow: World Famous Diamonds],” ''Jeweller Magazine'' [website] no date. Ryan Thompson, “[http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/tiffanyyellowdiamond.html The Tiffany Yellow Diamond],” ''The World of Famous Diamonds'' [website]
4. Sucher and Thompson claim the diamond was twice offered for sale: in 1951, when Tiffany’s new chairman recommended sale but whose financing fell through; and when it was advertised for sale in the ''New York Times'' on November 17, 1972. (The advertisement does not, however, appear in that date's edition in the NYT archive.)
5. While it was obviously worth exhibiting, at the 20^th century world’s fairs the Tiffany Yellow did not have its present publicity. Guidebooks for the Chicago fair in 1893 judged that the Tiffany & Co jewelry displays were less noteworthy than the stained glass exhibited by the founder’s son, Louis C. Tiffany.  In 1933, the gem was part of an installation focused on South African diamond mining.
6. Ryan Thompson, "[http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/tiffanyyellowdiamond.html The Tiffany Yellow]," ''Famous, Historic and Notable Diamonds'' (2004)
7. Marbeth Schon, "[http://www.modernsilver.com/tiffany.htm Review of Bejewelled by Tiffany, 1837-1937]," ''modernsilver.com''
8. Tiffany & Co., “[https://www.tiffany.com/world-of-tiffany/heritage/about-jean-schlumberger.html Jean Schlumberger]” [webpage]
9. Kim Parker, “[https://somethingaboutrocks.com/article/tiffany-co-debuts-new-setting-for-the-tiffany-diamond/ Tiffany & Co. debuts new setting for the Tiffany Diamond],“ ''Something About Rocks'' [website], May 4, 2023.
10. Lauren McCarthy, "[https://www.wmagazine.com/story/oscars-2019-lady-gaga-tiffany-diamond-necklace-audrey-hepburn Oscars 2019: Lady Gaga's priceless 128.54 carat "Tiffany Diamond" necklace was last worn by Audrey Hepburn in 1961]," [[W (magazine). wmagazine.com]]. February 24, 2019. @VVFriedman, "[https://x.com/VVFriedman/status/1099832896263720961 She's already won biggest jewel (Tweet)]," February 24, 2019. Tiffany & Co., "[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tiffany--co-introduces-the-about-love-campaign-starring-beyonce-and-jay-z-301360268.html Tiffany & Co. introduces the "ABOUT LOVE" campaign starring Beyonce and Jay-Z]," www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-8-23.
11. Stephanie Lam, "[https://press.tiffany.com/the-legendary-tiffany-diamond-stars-in-20th-century-studios-death-on-the-nile/ The Legendary Tiffany Diamond Stars in 20th Century Studios' Death on the Nile]," Tiffany & Co, Newsroom, 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2022-02-16.