Graff Diamonds

Graff Diamonds
Industry Jeweller, Watchmaker
Founded 1960, London, UK
Founder Laurence Graff
Number of locations
 Worldwide
Key people
 Laurence Graff (Chairman)
Number of employees
 500
Website www.graffdiamonds.com

Graff Diamonds is a British multinational jeweller based in London.[1] A vertically integrated company, Graff operations comprise the design, manufacture and retail distribution of high-end jewellery and watches.

History

Graff Diamonds was founded in London in 1960 by Laurence Graff.

Sourcing

Graff adheres to the Kimberly process, never knowingly buying or trading rough diamonds from areas where it would encourage conflict or human suffering. The majority of Graff diamonds are laser engraved with unique Gemological Institute of America tracking numbers, which whilst invisible to the naked eye, allow for its origin to be traced.

Notable diamonds

The Windsor Yellows were acquired by Laurence Graff in 1987 in Geneva during the auction of the jewels belonging to Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. The Duchess was often photographed wearing the Windsor Yellows, a pair of clips of fancy yellow pear shaped diamonds of 51.01 and 40.22 carats respectively. "I also bought another pair of clips the Duchess had owned," Laurence Graff explains. "Of course they needed re-cutting to bring them to their full potential, I bought all four, repolished them, and eventually made the Windsor earrings."[2]

The Paragon diamond was acquired by Graff in 1989. The Paragon is a 7-sided diamond of 137.82 carats (27.564 g), cut,[3][4] and was worn as part of "millennium" necklace of round, pink, blue and yellow diamonds by Naomi Campbell in 1999.[5]

The Lesotho Promise was acquired as a rough 603-carat (120.6 g) stone for $12.4 million in 2006.[6] The stone was cut by a team of 35 using computer-controlled lasers into 26 D-flawless diamonds totaling 224 carats (44.8 g), the highest yield from a single diamond.[7][8] In July 2007 the finished stones were unveiled. The largest gem cut from the diamond was a 75-carat (15.0 g) pear-shaped diamond; the smallest a 0.55-carat (110 mg) round brilliant. In all, twenty-six stones were fashioned from the rough gem, figuring as seven pear shapes, four emerald cuts, thirteen round brilliants and one heart shape. The finished gems total 224 carats (44.8 g).

The Letseng Legacy diamond was unearthed from the same mine as the Lesotho Promise Letseng diamond mine in 2008 and totalled 493cts. Acquired by Graff for $10.4 million, they yielded 20 diamonds totaling 231.67cts from the one rough stone.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is a 31.06-carat (6.212 g) fancy deep-blue diamond with internally flawless clarity purchased by Laurence Graff in 2008 for £16.4 million.

The Delaire Sunrise is, at 118.08 carats, the largest square emerald cut Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond in the world. Discovered in 2008 at an alluvial mine in South Africa, the 221.81 carat rough diamond. When Laurence Graff unveiled the finished diamond, he named it "the Delaire Sunrise".[9]

The Constellation is, at 102.79 carats, the largest round shaped, D colour, Internally Flawless diamond ever to be graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

The Graff Pink was acquired by Graff in November 2010. A pink diamond with a type IIa classification and modified emerald cut shape, the diamond was previously held in a private collection for over 60 years. The diamond displayed 25 natural flaws. The recut 23.88 carat diamond displayed new colour, clarity and internal flawlessness.[10][11][12][13]

The Graff Sweethearts were originally two rough diamonds weighing 196 carats and 184 carats discovered at the Letseng Mine in Lesotho. After cutting they produced a 51.53ct D colour Flawless type IIa and a 50.76ct D colour Flawless type IIa, both heart-shaped.

The Sultan Abdul Hamid II is a 70, 54 carat light yellow acquired by Graff in 1981. It has been suggested that this stone may have been cut from "The Ottoman I" which originally belonged to Suleyman the Magnificent of Turkey. See: Anna Malecka, "The Lost Diamond of Süleyman the Magnificent", Jewellery History Today: The Society of Jewellery Historians Winter 2015 (22).

The Peacock Brooch

Taking the form of a peacock with a display of fanned tail feathers, this diamond brooch features a collection of coloured diamonds. A total of 120.81 carats of diamonds adorn the brooch, which measures a little over 10 cm in height.

This piece is priced at $100 million. At the heart of the brooch, sits a 20.02 carat deep blue pear shape diamond. The piece also features an additional clasp to the rear, allowing the blue diamond centerpiece to be removed and worn two ways.[14][15]

Stores

Graff has over 50 stores around the world including New York, Monte Carlo, Courchevel, Kiev, Beijing and Taipei. [16]

Graff has corporate offices in London, New York, Geneva, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Graffiti magazine

Graff's bi-annual client magazine "Graffiti' was launched in 2009 and is distributed globally to Graff's clients in both English and Simplified Chinese.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Graff Diamonds". Graff Diamonds. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Most Fabulous Jewels In the World", Meredith Etherington-Smith, 1997
  3. ↑ Murphy, Robert (March 1, 2008), "In the cut", Wmagazine.com
  4. ↑ "The Paragon Diamond". Famousdiamonds.tripod.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Menkes, Suzy (15 June 1999). "Those Sparkling Celebrities". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  6. ↑ Sguazzin, Antony (9 October 2006). "Graff Buys Lesotho Promise Diamond for $12.4 Million". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  7. ↑ Robert Murphy (1 March 2008). "In the Cut". W Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Rowley, Emma (21 April 2013). "Commodities: Gem Diamonds carves out brighter prospects by cutting its own stones". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  9. ↑ "The Delaire Sunrise". Safdico.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "World's most famous 'unseen' diamond". BBC News. 30 January 2010.
  11. ↑ Archived January 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Fabrikant, Geraldine (18 June 2011). "Laurence Graff Sees Demand for Big Diamonds in China". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ "Rare pink diamond is sold for world record £29m to British billionaire jeweller". Daily Mail. London.
  14. ↑ "Graff to Unveil 120-Carat Diamond Peacock Brooch Valued At $100 Million". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Independent Jewelers Market News - Small Jeweler Organization Reports". Nationaljeweler.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Graff Diamonds". Graff Diamonds. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
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