Royal Purple Diamond: Key Facts

The Royal Purple Diamond is a 7.34 purple gemstone whose origin and history have been largely shrouded in mystery. Due to the rarity of purple diamonds, this perfect heart cut stone has been one of the most treasured gems ever since it was discovered. The Gemological Institute of America has graded the diamond as a Fancy Vivid stone.

The Royal Purple Diamond holds the distinction as the largest purple diamond ever to be discovered. Therefore, you would expect the gem to have generated immense publicity during its cutting and faceting stages. However, unlike most large and unique diamonds, not much information is available on the Royal Purple Diamond. Perhaps it’s that mystery that makes gemologists quite interested in this diamond. The diamond is a real work of craftsmanship, considering its rare color, large size, and the fancy shape.

Etymology

Two major attributes of the gemstone inspire Royal Purple Heart Diamond. Those include the color and shape of the diamond.

We already mentioned how difficult it is to come by naturally occurring purple diamonds. And we also pointed out how finding large naturally-occurring gem-quality diamonds is even harder. Now, factor in the rare shape of the Royal Purple, and you’ll begin to appreciate this gemstone's uniqueness.

Heart shapes are reasonably challenging to cushion. It requires high craftsmanship, and cushioning heart shapes means shedding significant carats from the stone. So, for the Royal Purple to weigh a whopping 7.34 carats after cutting and processing, we can only imagine how heavier it might have possibly been as a rough diamond.

Once cushioned, heart shapes are known for their remarkable brilliance. Due to their elongated facets, heart-shaped diamonds absorb maximum ambient light and color before harnessing it and finally reflecting it back to the stone. That explains why the Royal Heart Diamond is one of the most sparkling pieces of rare gemstones ever discovered.

Not so much information is available on the history of the Royal Purple Heart Diamond. However, unsubstantiated reports claim that the diamond might have originated in Russia. After its discovery, the cutting and polishing of the Royal Purple were entrusted to Julius Klein Diamond Corporation. And that’s as far as the history of the Royal Purple goes.

It’s important to remember that most diamonds are named after their owners or mines of origin. But due to the limited information available on the history of the Royal Purple, the diamond was exclusively named after its color and shape.

However, the Royal Purple Diamond has been handled by some of the most renowned entities in the jewelry industry. For instance, it was officially graded by the GIA. Besides, the British gemologist Michael Hing also had the rare privilege of examining the Royal Purple sometime in 2002. It was one of the few famous diamonds Hing ever examined.

Mr. Hing described the Royal Purple Diamond as having a diagonal surface graining. According to him, the graining was clearly visible to the naked eye, especially if observed under a glancing light. That diamond’s external structure flaw is a blemish on the otherwise rare and precious gem.

Mr. Hing added that the stone is not as blue as normally depicted in photos. Instead, it’s generally more purple than lilac. The diamond also features a thick girdle, though the thickness isn’t uniformly distributed. Hing reckons that the extra thickness was an ingenious way of preserving the carat weight during the cutting and polishing.

Carat

The Royal Purple Heart Diamond weighs a whopping 7.34 carats, which makes it the largest diamond of its kind.

Color

Besides numerous depictions of the Royal Purple as lilac-blue, the diamond is purple.

Cut and Shape

The diamond is a perfect heart, a fancy-cut gemstone. It’s this combination that gives it its immense glittering effect.

Clarity

The Royal Purple Diamond has an I-1 clarity—however, diagonal surface graining accounts for much of the stone’s external blemishes.

Purple and red diamonds are considered the rarest. And due to their exquisite colors, these diamonds come with quite hefty price tags. Another thing worth noting is that most purple and red diamonds tend to occur in smaller weights, typically below 5 carats. But unlike other rare purple diamonds, the Royal Purple Heart Diamond appears to be an exception to that rule. The diamond’s 7.34 carats not only give it the distinction of being the largest gem-quality purple diamond available. It also means the gemstone is quite a spectacle in terms of fire and brilliance. As you may already know, a diamond’s light-handling properties improve with an increase in carat weight.

The Royal Purple Heart Diamond is classified under what’s known as plastically deformed type IIa diamonds. To better understand this, let’s briefly highlight how diamonds occur.

During the formation of diamond crystals underneath the earth’s surface, certain other atoms are incorporated into their structures as impurities. The two most common ones are Nitrogen and Boron. Nitrogen is the most prevalent impurity in diamond crystals, in about 98% of all natural diamonds. Diamonds that contain traces of nitrogen tend to appear yellow. Such diamonds are known as Type I diamonds. The intensity of the yellow color depends on the concentration of nitrogen impurities in the crystal.

The remaining 2% of natural diamonds contain no traces of nitrogen and are known as Type II diamonds. However, a tiny percentage {0.1%} of Type II diamonds tend to contain considerable amounts of Boron in their crystals. Diamonds that contain impurities of Boron generally appear blue and are known as Type IIb diamonds. The remaining 99.9% of all Type II diamonds contain no impurities, or the quantity cannot be detected. Such diamonds fall within Type IIa diamonds and are generally colorless.

However, some Type IIa diamonds may have been subjected to plastic deformation of their crystal structures. That often results from the bending and twisting the tetrahedral units within the crystal. The deformed areas within the crystal can absorb light across various regions of the spectrum. As a result, the light is reflected in the stone as rare fancy colors. The colors in this category include red, orange, brown, pink, and purple.

1. The Royal Purple Heart Diamond’s history and mine of origin aren’t disclosed. Also, there isn’t reliable information on the previous and current owners of the stone.
2. Though it has been graded, the diamond’s current price hasn’t been established.
3. Much as the diamond has a heart shape, the heart lacks a crucial component that would have made it a true heart – the cleavage.

The Royal Purple Heart Diamond is probably the most mysterious and famous diamond in the world. The much we know is that it sports a unique color and shape. That suggests the diamond may be quite expensive, even though it’s yet to be appraised. Here are more unique diamonds you may want to check out.