The Dresden Green Diamond, also known as the Dresden Green, is a 41-carat (8.2 g) natural green diamond which originated in the minesofIndia.[1]
The Dresden Green is a rare Type IIa, with a clarity of VS1 and it is said to be potentially internally flawless, if slightly recut.[2]
The Dresden Green Diamond has a historical record dating back to 1722, when a London news-sheet carried an article about it in its 25 October-27th edition.[6] It was acquired by Augustus III of Poland from a Dutch merchant in 1742 at the Leipzig Fair.[6] In 1768, the diamond was incorporated into an extremely valuable hat ornament, surrounded by two large and 411 medium-sized and small diamonds.[7] This is the setting that the Dresden Green still appears in today.
In 2000, American jewelry firm Harry Winston arranged to display the Dresden Green at the New York flagship store and then at the SmithsonianinWashington, DC, United States, where it was displayed in the Harry Winston pavilion next to the largest blue diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond.
The stone's unique apple green color is due to natural exposure to radioactive materials, as the irradiation of diamonds can produce changes in color. The Dresden Green Diamond has been used to compare natural versus lab-produced green diamonds — it is hoped that it can be used to devise a test to differentiate between naturally green diamonds, which are quite rare, and lab-produced ones.
India
Media related to Dresden Green Diamond at Wikimedia Commons
