Swiss luxury jewelry and watches company de Grisogono has acquired the world’s most expensive rough diamond, the brand announced today at the opening of the Biennale des Antiquaires antique show in Paris.
Known as The Constellation, the diamond was purchased at a private Sotherby’s auction by Dubai trading company Nemesis International for a record $63 million. It weighs 813 carats and measures 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across. It first made headlines in November 2015 when it was pulled out of Karowe Mine in Botswana by the Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond.
“(This is) the first time we’ve taken such a historic stone and had full creative freedom to do what we want with it,” said de Grisogono CEO John Leitao in Paris, adding that the brand planned to transform Constellation into “a stone that rivals the crown jewels.”
Fit for a princess
De Grisogono founder Fawaz Gruosi, recognized as the creative visionary behind the brand, referred to the stone alternately as his “princess,” “his collaborator” and “his woman.” But he admits their relationship can be complicated.
“I love her and I hate her,” he said. “Love because something like this is so exceptional — I could never dream to be able to have a stone like this in my own hands — and hate her because I don’t know how I’m going to dress her.”
Though the two maintain a constant dialogue (“I keep talking to her, asking what clothes she would like to wear”), Gruosi predicts it will be six to eight months before de Grisogono unveils the finished stone.
“I had a lot of ideas in my head, but I didn’t find the right dress to put to my princess,” he said.
“I really want to do something which is ready only to be presented to the king.”
