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- Accessories
Oct 28: The Wittelsbach-
Graff diamond
October 2010
A diamond, as they say, is forever. But just like people, it can
sometimes benefit from a little cosmetic surgery as it ages. Dating from
1664, the 35-carat Wittelsbach blue was bequeathed through generations
of Spanish, Austrian, and Bavarian royalty. The diamond sold at auction
in 2008 for a record $24.3 million; Laurence Graff, the dealer who
bought it, immediately recut the most valuable jewel in the world to
minimize imperfections and maximize brilliance. Now a slimmer, more
perfect 31 carats—and renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond—it goes on
display at New York’s American Museum of Natural History (October 28 to
January 2011), and not without controversy. Graff may have tampered with
a piece of history, but he also made it better-looking.
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