The Tiffany Yellow Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. Its carat weight was originally 287.42 carats (57.484 g) in the rough when discovered in South Africa around 1878. The subsequent cutting reduced it to 128.54 carats (25.108 g). Acquired by Tiffany & Co., the stone was fashioned under the eye of George F. Kunz as a cushion-shaped Stellar Cut Brilliant, but with an additional third step in the crown, bringing the total facets from the traditional 58 to 90. Kunz later wrote that the “unprecedented number of facets was given the stone not to make it more brilliant, but less brilliant. The stone was of yellow colour, and it was thought better to give it the effect of a smothered, smoldering fire than one of flashing radiance.”[1]
The stone was never sold, and instead became part of Tiffany’s branding as a seller of high-end jewelry and diamonds. Its permanent home has been the firm’s flagship store in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[2]
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.