The Nassak Diamond (also known as the Nassac Diamond[2] and the Eye of the Idol[3]) is a large, 43.38-carat diamond that originated as a larger diamond in the 15th century in India.[4] Found in the Amaragiri mine located in Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India,[5] and originally cut in India, the diamond adorned the statue of Shiva in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra, India from at least 1500 to 1817. During the time when the Diamond was stolen by the British East India Company, Nashik was wrongly spelt as Nassak. [4] The British East India Company stole the diamond through the Third Anglo-Maratha War and sold it to British jewelers Rundell and Bridge in 1818.[4] Rundell and Bridge recut the diamond in 1818,[6] after which it made its way into the handle of the 1st Marquess of Westminster's dress sword.[4]
The Nassak Diamond was imported into the United States in 1927, and was considered one of the first 24 great diamonds of the world by 1930.[4] American jeweler Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in 1940 in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38-carat emerald cut shape.[7] Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewelry firm in 1942. Mrs. William B. Leeds of New York received the gem in 1944 as a sixth anniversary present and wore it in a ring.[7] The Nassak Diamond was last sold at an auction in New York in 1970 to Edward J. Hand, a 48-year old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Nassak Diamond was imported into the United States in 1927, and was considered one of the first 24 great diamonds of the world by 1930.[4] American jeweler Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in 1940 in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38-carat emerald cut shape.[7] Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewelry firm in 1942. Mrs. William B. Leeds of New York received the gem in 1944 as a sixth anniversary present and wore it in a ring.[7] The Nassak Diamond was last sold at an auction in New York in 1970 to Edward J. Hand, a 48-year old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.
History
The Nassak Diamond originated in the 15th century in India.[4] Although the date of the original cutting is unknown, the original cutting was performed in India and had sacrificed e
verything to size while giving the diamond a form and appearance similar to that of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.[4][9] From at least 1500 to 1817, the Nassak Diamond adorned the statue of Shiva in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nassak, India, on the upper Godavari River.[4] As priests worshiped Shiva through the statue, the diamond eventually acquired its name from its long term proximity to Nassak, India.[4]
In 1817, the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India began the Third Anglo-Maratha War. During the Mahratta war, the Nassak Diamond was stolen from the Shiva statue by the British East India Company desecrating the Hindu temple in the process [4] The war ended in 1818 and the British Government was left decisively in control of most of India.
Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, NashikThe Nassak Diamond quickly resurfaced with Bajerow,[10] the last independent Indian Prince of Peshwa, who handed over the diamond to an English colonel named J. Briggs.[4] In turn, Briggs delivered the diamond to the Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the 1st Marquess of Hastings who had conducted the military operations against the Peshwa.[4] Rawdon-Hastings delivered the diamond to the East India Company as part of the spoils of the Mahratta war.[4] The East India Company then sent the Nassak Diamond to England, to be sold on the 1818 London diamond market.[4]
At the London diamond market, the Nassak Diamond was presented as an approximately 89 carat diamond of great purity "but of bad form," having a somewhat pear-shape.[4] The diamond further was characterized as a "rudely-faceted, lustreless mass." Despite its appearance, the diamond was sold for about 3,000 pounds (modernly £172,900) to Rundell and Bridge, a British jewelry firm based in London.[4]
Vectorized drawings of an 1876 sketch of the Nassak Diamond.Rundell and Bridge held onto the diamond for the next 13 years.[4] During that time, the jewelry firm instructed its diamond cutter "to keep as closely as possible to the traces of the Hindu cutter, 'amending his defects, and accommodating the pattern to the exigencies of the subject matter.'" The recut by Rundell and Bridge from 89 3/4 carats to 78 5/8 carats resulted of a loss of no more than 10 percent of the original weight of the diamond.[4][11]
In 1831, Rundell and Bridge sold the diamond to the Emanuel Brothers for about 7,200 pounds (modernly £519,100).[4] Six years later in 1837, the Emanuel Brothers sold the Nassak Diamond at a public sale to Robert Grosvenor, the 1st Marquess of Westminster.[4] At one point, the Marquess mounted the diamond in the handle of his dress sword.[4] In 1886, the diamond was valued at between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds (modernly between £2.34 million and £3.12 million), due in part to its vast gain in brilliancy from the recut by Rundell and Bridge.[4]
Mauboussin and the lawsuit Side view 13a, top view 13b, and bottom view 13c drawings of the Nassak Diamond as it appeared between the Rundell and Bridge recut and the 1940 Winston recut. A U.S.court ruled in 1930 that the shown recut revealed nothing more than "a large diamond, cut in an ordinary way."In 1922, George Mauboussin had become the named partner of "Mauboussin, Successeur de Noury," a French Jewellery house that traced its roots to its founding by Monsieur Rocher in 1827.[12] In March 1927, the Duke of Westminster used U.S. importers Mayers, Osterwald & Muhlfeld to sell the diamond to Parisian jeweler George Mauboussin, who was living in the United States at the time.[13] Mauboussin's importation of the diamond into the United States was tax free since the diamond was determined to be an artistic antiquity produced more than one hundred years prior to the date of importation in the the United States.[4] However, E. F. Bendler, an American wholesaler and dealer in diamonds and of a rival of Mauboussin, filed a protest that resulted in a lawsuit to determine whether a tax should be imposed on the diamond's entry into the United States.[4] By November 1927, Mauboussin considered selling the diamond to friends of General Primo de Rivera, who planned to give the diamond to the dictator on the occasion of his forthcoming investiture as marshal of Spain.[14] That sale never materialized and the lawsuit continued. A second opportunity to rid himself of the diamond occured in January 1929, when four gunmen robbed the Park Avenue jewelry store where the Nassak Diamond was being kept.[15] However, the thieves missed finding the diamond because it was being stored in a soiled envelope.[15][16]
After the first robbery attempt, Mauboussin's jewellery firm opened a branch in New York City on October 1, 1929, only to be met by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the end of October.[17] To compound matters, the same gang of international robbers tried to steal the Nassak Diamond again in May 1930, but once again missed the famous Nassak Diamond.[18]
Prior to the outcome of the lawsuit, the insured diamond was valued between US$400,000 and $500,000 (modernly $5.16 million and $6.45 million).[18] At the time the lawsuit was pending, imported diamonds that were cut and suitable for use in the manufacture of jewelry, without actually being set as jewelry were subject to an ad valorem tax of 20% its value.[2] However, artistic antiquities produced more than one hundred years prior to the date of importation could be imported into the United States duty free; that is to say, without having to pay a 20% tax.[2] The final decision of the lawsuit was released on June 4, 1930.[6] In that decision, the court determined that the unset 78 5/8 carat Nassak Diamond was not an artistic antiquity and was suitable for use in manufacture of jewelry.[6] In particular, the court said that the 1930 Nassak Diamond was nothing more than "a large diamond, cut in an ordinary way."[19] As a result, the importer owed an ad valorem tax of 20% of the diamond's value under U.S. Tariff Act of 1922.[19]
Harry
verything to size while giving the diamond a form and appearance similar to that of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.[4][9] From at least 1500 to 1817, the Nassak Diamond adorned the statue of Shiva in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nassak, India, on the upper Godavari River.[4] As priests worshiped Shiva through the statue, the diamond eventually acquired its name from its long term proximity to Nassak, India.[4]In 1817, the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India began the Third Anglo-Maratha War. During the Mahratta war, the Nassak Diamond was stolen from the Shiva statue by the British East India Company desecrating the Hindu temple in the process [4] The war ended in 1818 and the British Government was left decisively in control of most of India.
Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, NashikThe Nassak Diamond quickly resurfaced with Bajerow,[10] the last independent Indian Prince of Peshwa, who handed over the diamond to an English colonel named J. Briggs.[4] In turn, Briggs delivered the diamond to the Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the 1st Marquess of Hastings who had conducted the military operations against the Peshwa.[4] Rawdon-Hastings delivered the diamond to the East India Company as part of the spoils of the Mahratta war.[4] The East India Company then sent the Nassak Diamond to England, to be sold on the 1818 London diamond market.[4]
At the London diamond market, the Nassak Diamond was presented as an approximately 89 carat diamond of great purity "but of bad form," having a somewhat pear-shape.[4] The diamond further was characterized as a "rudely-faceted, lustreless mass." Despite its appearance, the diamond was sold for about 3,000 pounds (modernly £172,900) to Rundell and Bridge, a British jewelry firm based in London.[4]
Vectorized drawings of an 1876 sketch of the Nassak Diamond.Rundell and Bridge held onto the diamond for the next 13 years.[4] During that time, the jewelry firm instructed its diamond cutter "to keep as closely as possible to the traces of the Hindu cutter, 'amending his defects, and accommodating the pattern to the exigencies of the subject matter.'" The recut by Rundell and Bridge from 89 3/4 carats to 78 5/8 carats resulted of a loss of no more than 10 percent of the original weight of the diamond.[4][11]
In 1831, Rundell and Bridge sold the diamond to the Emanuel Brothers for about 7,200 pounds (modernly £519,100).[4] Six years later in 1837, the Emanuel Brothers sold the Nassak Diamond at a public sale to Robert Grosvenor, the 1st Marquess of Westminster.[4] At one point, the Marquess mounted the diamond in the handle of his dress sword.[4] In 1886, the diamond was valued at between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds (modernly between £2.34 million and £3.12 million), due in part to its vast gain in brilliancy from the recut by Rundell and Bridge.[4]
Mauboussin and the lawsuit Side view 13a, top view 13b, and bottom view 13c drawings of the Nassak Diamond as it appeared between the Rundell and Bridge recut and the 1940 Winston recut. A U.S.court ruled in 1930 that the shown recut revealed nothing more than "a large diamond, cut in an ordinary way."In 1922, George Mauboussin had become the named partner of "Mauboussin, Successeur de Noury," a French Jewellery house that traced its roots to its founding by Monsieur Rocher in 1827.[12] In March 1927, the Duke of Westminster used U.S. importers Mayers, Osterwald & Muhlfeld to sell the diamond to Parisian jeweler George Mauboussin, who was living in the United States at the time.[13] Mauboussin's importation of the diamond into the United States was tax free since the diamond was determined to be an artistic antiquity produced more than one hundred years prior to the date of importation in the the United States.[4] However, E. F. Bendler, an American wholesaler and dealer in diamonds and of a rival of Mauboussin, filed a protest that resulted in a lawsuit to determine whether a tax should be imposed on the diamond's entry into the United States.[4] By November 1927, Mauboussin considered selling the diamond to friends of General Primo de Rivera, who planned to give the diamond to the dictator on the occasion of his forthcoming investiture as marshal of Spain.[14] That sale never materialized and the lawsuit continued. A second opportunity to rid himself of the diamond occured in January 1929, when four gunmen robbed the Park Avenue jewelry store where the Nassak Diamond was being kept.[15] However, the thieves missed finding the diamond because it was being stored in a soiled envelope.[15][16]
After the first robbery attempt, Mauboussin's jewellery firm opened a branch in New York City on October 1, 1929, only to be met by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the end of October.[17] To compound matters, the same gang of international robbers tried to steal the Nassak Diamond again in May 1930, but once again missed the famous Nassak Diamond.[18]
Prior to the outcome of the lawsuit, the insured diamond was valued between US$400,000 and $500,000 (modernly $5.16 million and $6.45 million).[18] At the time the lawsuit was pending, imported diamonds that were cut and suitable for use in the manufacture of jewelry, without actually being set as jewelry were subject to an ad valorem tax of 20% its value.[2] However, artistic antiquities produced more than one hundred years prior to the date of importation could be imported into the United States duty free; that is to say, without having to pay a 20% tax.[2] The final decision of the lawsuit was released on June 4, 1930.[6] In that decision, the court determined that the unset 78 5/8 carat Nassak Diamond was not an artistic antiquity and was suitable for use in manufacture of jewelry.[6] In particular, the court said that the 1930 Nassak Diamond was nothing more than "a large diamond, cut in an ordinary way."[19] As a result, the importer owed an ad valorem tax of 20% of the diamond's value under U.S. Tariff Act of 1922.[19]
Harry
Winston's influenceIn 1930, the Nassak Diamond had a somewhat elongated triangle form with rounded corners.[4] The depth of one side of the triangle was thicker than the other.[20] The diamond was "without flaw, unusually brilliant, and so cut as to well display its clear, crystal brilliancy."[20] While on exhibit at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois, the "Official guide book of the fair, 1933" described the diamond as a flawless, blue- white stone with a reputation of being "the finest diamond outside crown jewels collections."[21]
In 1940, American jeweler Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38-carat emerald cut shape.[7] Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewelry firm in 1942. In 1944, Commander William Bateman Leeds, Jr., millionaire son of the inventor of a tin plating process and friend of George Mauboussin, purchased the diamond for his wife, Reflexion Olive Leeds (born Olive Hamilton), and gave it to her in a set ring as a sixth anniversary present.[7][12]
Present informationIn early 1964, gemologist G. Robert (Bob) Crowningshield evaluated the Nassak Diamond at the Gemological Institute of America gem laboratory to produce a Diamond Grading Report.[22] In that same year, the Nassak Diamond was placed in the hands of J. & S.S. DeYoung, a then 100-year old estate jewelry house located in New York. The Gemological Institute of America Diamond Grading Report that came with the diamond indicated that it was Internally Flawless.[23] In early April 1970, the diamond was rated 1 of 30 great stones of world and placed on display at Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York City.[24] The diamond was sold at auction on April 16, 1970 for $500,000 (modernly $2.77 million) to Edward J. Hand, a then 48-year old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.[8] This was the second highest auction price ever for a diamond.[8] The diamond was placed on display in November 1976 at a charity benefit as a gimmick to attract donators to that benefit.[25] In December 1982, BMI airlines purchased a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airplane from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines that it registered two months later in the United Kingdom with the name "Nassak Diamond".[26]
In 1940, American jeweler Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38-carat emerald cut shape.[7] Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewelry firm in 1942. In 1944, Commander William Bateman Leeds, Jr., millionaire son of the inventor of a tin plating process and friend of George Mauboussin, purchased the diamond for his wife, Reflexion Olive Leeds (born Olive Hamilton), and gave it to her in a set ring as a sixth anniversary present.[7][12]
Present informationIn early 1964, gemologist G. Robert (Bob) Crowningshield evaluated the Nassak Diamond at the Gemological Institute of America gem laboratory to produce a Diamond Grading Report.[22] In that same year, the Nassak Diamond was placed in the hands of J. & S.S. DeYoung, a then 100-year old estate jewelry house located in New York. The Gemological Institute of America Diamond Grading Report that came with the diamond indicated that it was Internally Flawless.[23] In early April 1970, the diamond was rated 1 of 30 great stones of world and placed on display at Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York City.[24] The diamond was sold at auction on April 16, 1970 for $500,000 (modernly $2.77 million) to Edward J. Hand, a then 48-year old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.[8] This was the second highest auction price ever for a diamond.[8] The diamond was placed on display in November 1976 at a charity benefit as a gimmick to attract donators to that benefit.[25] In December 1982, BMI airlines purchased a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airplane from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines that it registered two months later in the United Kingdom with the name "Nassak Diamond".[26]
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