BERLIN // A British jeweller has enraged German historians and gem experts by recutting one of the world's most famous diamonds, the Wittelsbach Blue, a crown jewel of the Bavarian royal family for more than two centuries.
Laurence Graff, the London-based chairman and founder of Graff Diamonds International, is being accused of destroying a piece of Germany's national heritage by changing the 300-year-old rose-shaped cut of the flawless blue gemstone named after the House of Wittelsbach.
Mr Graff bought the diamond at Christie's in December 2008 for £16.4 million (Dh60.2m), the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at an auction. He had his master cutters give the stone a modern polish with additional facets to highlight its blue colour, which reduced its weight by about four carats to 31.06.
The repolished stone was unveiled on January 28 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, where it will be on display until August. Germans say Mr Graff has also added insult to injury by renaming it the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond.
"This is barbarism. You cannot begin to describe the damage he has done. The stone may look a bit more lively and sparkling, but its history has been destroyed," Dieter Hahn, one of Germany's leading diamond cutters, said in an interview. "It's like buying a Rembrandt and repainting it."
Jürgen Evers, a diamond expert who has researched the history of the Wittelsbach Blue, said Mr Graff had intensified its blueness by lengthening the path the light takes through the gem.
"His aim of course was to increase the price, and he may have increased the material value of the stone. But its symbolic value has been ruined. He shouldn't have done it," Mr Evers said. "He's a billionaire who's creating a monument to himself at the expense of others."
Coloured diamonds, known as "fancy diamonds", are extremely rare and were favoured by European royalty as symbols of wealth and power.
The Wittelsbach Blue, which matches Bavaria's heraldic colour, is one of the world's largest known blue diamonds and ranks alongside the Hope Diamond, a 45.52-carat blue diamond that once belonged to the French royal family and is also on show in the Smithsonian museum.
Both are believed to have come from the Kollur mine in the Indian Muslim sultanate of Golconda, near Hyderabad. According to an article in Gems & Gemology magazine, they may have been brought to Europe by Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a French diamond dealer who made several trips to India in the 17th century.
Experts who examined the diamond had praised the original 300-year-old polish, believed to have been carried out in India, as strikingly smooth.
Mr Graff said in an e-mail that the repolishing had allowed the diamond to achieve its full potential. "It had many imperfections. Besides wear marks, it was chipped and it had an extra large culet," or flat base, he said. "Although the risk was enormous, I had all the confidence I needed in my craftsmen and decided to remove the chips and imperfections and reduce the culet size." Throughout the process, "great care and attention was taken to retain its original features", he added.
That will not assuage critics in Germany. Hans Ottomeyer, the president of the German Historical Museum who has researched the history of the Wittelsbach Blue for 30 years, said Mr Graff had "vandalised" the stone. "He's flattened it like a boiled sweet."
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of Germany's leading newspapers, wrote: "Eternity has been abolished."
Gabriel Tolkowsky, regarded as one of the world's best diamond cutters, described the repolishing as "the end of culture".
Despite all the bluster and outrage, there is nothing Germany can do about the matter. The Wittelsbachs secretly sold the gem in 1951 to raise cash, and the state of Bavaria as legal successor to the Bavarian crown missed its chance to buy it back in the 2008 auction at Christie's. That is hardly surprising given that spending a vast sum of taxpayers' money on a gemstone is not so politically acceptable.
The Wittelsbach Blue came into the possession of the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1666 as a dowry and passed into the House of Wittelsbach in Munich in 1722, again as part of a wedding gift. It can be seen adorning a hair ornament in a bridal portrait of Archduchess Maria Amalia painted in 1722, in honour of her marriage to the Bavarian crown prince, Charles Albert. When the kingdom of Bavaria was founded in 1806, the stone took pride of place on top of the newly crafted crown where it was set in an orb under the cross.
The Bavarian monarchy was abolished in 1918 at the end of the First World War and the Wittelsbach treasures were turned over to a foundation. The Wittelsbach Blue was secretly sold in 1951 to an unknown merchant. A few months later, an Antwerp diamond dealer Romi Benjamin Goldmuntz bought it. After his death in 1960, it was offered to the Wittelsbach Foundation, which refused to buy it.
After spending some years in jewellery stores in Lucerne, Hamburg and Düsseldorf, it was bought by Helmut Horten, the ageing owner of one of Germany's largest department store chains. Legend has it that he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to his young bride, Heidi Jelinek, a secretary 32 years his junior, at their wedding party in Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera in 1966.
She put it up for sale in 2008. "Its history, its size, its colour, its age, its old cut made this stone unique," said Mr Hahn, who owns Ph. Hahn Söhne, Germany's oldest diamond-cutting business. "It's still a very special stone, but it has now lost a lot if its flair."
However, the controversy may end up increasing the fame of the Wittelsbach Blue as most of the world's most precious stones have troubled histories. The pale pink 182 carat Darya-I-Nur, or "Sea of Light", part of the Iranian crown jewels, was seized in a raid on Delhi in 1739 in which hundreds were slaughtered.
The pale yellow 55-carat Sancy, on display in the Louvre, was at one point found in the stomach of a murdered courier. The Regent Diamond, another classic shown in the Louvre, was smuggled out of a Golconda mine by a slave who hid it inside a leg wound. He was later killed for it.
And the 105-carat Koh-I-Nur, meaning "Mountain of Light", now among Britain's crown jewels, is rumoured to be cursed whenever it is not in the possession of a woman.
dcrossland@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Living in...
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Chatham House Rule
A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding, was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”.
The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.
The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events.
Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.
That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
House Rule” states that the contents of any meeting can be discussed outside Chatham
House but no mention can be made identifying individuals who commented.
This has enabled some candid exchanges on difficult subjects
allowing a greater degree of free speech from high-ranking figures.
These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
ambassadors reported them in secret diplomatic cables that – when they were
revealed in the Wikileaks reporting – were thus found to have broken the rule. However,
most speeches are held on the record.
Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
policymakers enabling them to more coherently address troubling issues from climate
change to health and food security.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
Company%20profile
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Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
