Graff Jewelry: Diamonds, jewellery and prices of the most expensive jewels in the world

Graff Jewelry – Tracking down the most valuable diamonds is part of her job. If you find a big diamond, you can get rich in one fell swoop. Isn’t there? Yes! The L’Incomparable diamond necklace contains one of the most valuable diamonds in the world. The necklace is worth $55 million with the L’Incomparable diamond, because it is the largest, inside flawless diamond in the world. Hard to believe, but it was. A little girl discovered the stone amidst the rubble of the mines. In 1980 she found the L’Incomparable diamond in the overburden of the mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo: 407.48 carats. This is the source of the most exclusive pieces of jewellery, made by Graff. Therefore, right at the beginning we will show you the cut of the “Graff Lesedi La Rona”, you will see how a 1,109 carat rough diamond becomes an ultra-exclusive 302.37 diamond from Graff! The world’s largest, purest emerald diamond ever certified by the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA)

302.37 carat – How a diamond is created

How is a finished diamond created? The question is simple, the process is all the more complicated. It takes a lot of time to cut a diamond. Diamonds cut by real masters of their trade.

In the following video you can see the transformation of the 302.37 carat “Graff Lesedi La Rona”. This diamond is the largest square emerald cut diamond in the world. Not only that, it is also the largest, clearest and most colorful square emerald cut diamond ever certified by the GIA. The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) developed a system of diamond certification and is used worldwide.

Graff have taken the Lesedia La Rona rough diamond with 1,109 carats on an incredible journey.

Purchase, Planning, Cutting and Sale

The process – The rough diamond has an incredible 1,109 carats and is the second largest ever found on our planet. It was discovered over 100 years ago. Immediately after the purchase, Graff began with the design of the cut and planning. Graff first cut and polished 66 individual, exquisite satellite diamonds. In the second step, the main diamond, of unprecedented size, is cut and polished.

Graff’s world-leading team of gemstone developers and master polishers spent a full year and a half, or 18 months, expertly planning, cutting and polishing the rough diamond using groundbreaking technology.

• Rough diamond: 1,109 carats
• Diamond (after cut): 302.37 carat
• 66 satellite diamonds
• Processing time: 18 months

The result is a masterpiece, a truly historic moment, the Graff Lesedi La Rona with 302.37 carats. Take a look at the creation process here!

Graff Jewelry: History and manufacture

Graff is known for the quality of its fine and filigree jewellery. As described above, it takes up to 18 months to process a unique diamond.

Especially for diamond jewelry Graff is state-of-the-art, also for emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls. The worldwide network helps them to make spectacular purchases.

The Graff company was founded in the 1960s by Laurence Graff and is characterized by the production of magnificent diamonds. They obtain their rodiamonds from mines all over the world.

Experienced master jewellers, gemstone developers and master polishers cut and polish each stone to achieve its full beauty with a special sensitivity for yellow diamonds.

Laurence Graff has worked on some of the most important diamonds of our time. These include the seven-sided 187.82 carat Paragon and the 603 carat uncut Lesotho Promise. The jewels themselves also adorn Graff’s exquisite selection of luxury watches.

Tip! The most coveted and largest gemstones in the world in one list: Here are the most expensive diamonds

Graff diamonds

Windsor Yellows

The Windsor Yellows were acquired by Laurence Graff in Geneva in 1987 at the auction of the jewels of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.

The Duchess was often photographed with the Windsor Yellows, a pair of clips with chic yellow pear-shaped diamonds of 51.01 and 40.22 carats respectively.

• Purchase: 1987 in Geneva (auction)
• Carat: 51.01 and 40.22
• New grinding after acquisition

Paragon Diamond – 137.82 carat

The Paragon diamond was acquired by Graff in 1989. The Paragon is a 7-sided diamond of 137.82 carat (27.564 g), cut. In 1999, the diamond was worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell as a big highlight of the “Millenium” chain.

• Purchase: 1989
• Carat: 137.82

Lesotho Promise

The Lesotho Promise was acquired in 2006 as a rough stone with 603 carats (120.6 g) for 12.4 million dollars.

Such a giant is no longer processed by one person today. The Lesotho Promise was cut by a team of 35 people, with computerized lasers (as seen in the video above), into 26 flawless diamonds totaling 223.35 carats (44.670 g), the highest yield from a single diamond.

The finished stones were unveiled in July 2007.

• Purchase: 2006
• Purchase price: $12.4 million
• rough diamond: 603
• Carat (after cut) of all 26 stones: 223,35
• Carat, largest single diamond: 75

Letseng Legacy Diamond – 231.67 carat

The Letseng Legacy Diamond was found and excavated from the same mine as the Lesotho Promise in 2008. In its raw state the stone was 493 carats. The Letseng Legacy Diamond was purchased by Graff for $10.4 million. The rough stone was cut into 20 diamonds totalling 231.67 carats.

• Excavation: 2008
• Purchase price: 10.4 million
• rough diamond: 493 carat
• Carat (after cut) of all 20 stones: 231,67

Wittelsbach-Graff diamond – 31.06 carat

The Wittelsbach Graff diamond is a 31.06 carat diamond. Its exclusive properties make it one of the most sought-after jewels in the world. The Wittelsbach-Graff-Diamond is an extravagant, deep blue diamond with flawless purity inside the stone. Laurence Graff bought the diamond in 20018 for an incredible 16.4 million pounds, or 20.96 million dollars.

• Purchase: 2008
• Purchase price: $22 million
• Sold: $80 million (Royal Family of Qatar)
• Carat: 31.06
• Special features: Deep blue, flawless purity

Delaire Sunrise

The Delaire Sunrise is the largest square emerald-cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond in the world at 118.08 carats. The rough diamond from which the Delaire Sunrise was made weighed as much as 221.81 carats and was discovered in 2008 in an alluvial mine in South Africa. When Laurence Graff unveiled the finished diamond, he called it “Delaire Sunrise” [10].

• Carat: 118.08
• Carat of rough diamond: 221,81
• Characteristic: Largest square, emerald-cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond
• Origin: Africa

Constellation

At 102.79 carats, the Constellation is the largest round, D-shaped, internally flawless diamond ever evaluated by the Gemmological Institute of America.

• Carat: 102.79
• Special feature: Its size and its perfect flawlessness from the inside

Graff Pink

The Graff Pink is an absolute highlight from Graff. The Type IIa classification with modified emerald cut is estimated at $30-50 million. In 2010 the stone was bought by Graff, in November. For over 60 years, Graff Pink was in a private collection, now it is owned by one of the most prestigious jewelers in the world. Through the new cut, the re-cut 23.88 carat diamond shows new color, clarity and inner flawlessness. “The Pink Legacy”, as the gemstone is also called, was auctioned in Geneva in 2010, at Christie’s auction house.

• Carat: 23.88
• Purchase price: $46.2 million
• Purchase Date: 2010

Graff Sweethearts

The Graff Sweethearts were originally two rough diamonds of 196 carats and 184 carats, which were discovered in the Letseng Mine in Lesotho. After cutting, they produced a 51.53 carat D colour and a Type IIa and a 50.76 carat D colour, both heart-shaped.

• Carats of rough diamonds: 196 and 184
• Diamond (1, after cut): 51,53
• Diamond (2, after cut): 50,76

Sultan Abdul Hamid II

The Sultan Abdul Hamid II is a light yellow 70.54 carat, which was purchased by Graff in 1981. It is believed that this stone was cut from the “Ottoman I”, which originally belonged to Süleyman the Magnificent of Turkey.

• Carat: 70.54
• Date of purchase: 1981

Graff Lesedi La Rona

The Graff Lesedi La Rona, a high clarity emerald cut diamond with 302.37 carat D-colour. It is the main cut of the Lesedi La Rona, which was bought by Graff in 2017 and cut in 2019. The cut of the rough stone also produced 66 smaller stones.

• Sales price: $53 million
• Carat of the rough diamond: $302.37
• Cut in 66 smaller stones