The Dresden Green Diamond
Green diamonds are extremely rare, and the pear-shaped, 41 carats Dresden Green Diamond is the most famous one of them all. According to scientists, its vibrant apple green color comes from natural exposure to radiation during the millions of years when it was being formed. What makes the Dresden Green Diamond even more exceptional, though, is that its green color is evenly distributed throughout. This is truly unusual for green diamonds, which typically only exhibit a thin layer of green often lost during polishing. Scientists attribute this to highly penetrating beta and gamma rays vs. low penetrating alpha rays. The Dresden Green Diamond was likely exposed to both types.
Tracing the journey of the Dresden Green Diamond takes us back to the famed Golconda mines in India in the 18th century. The rough diamond is believed to have weighed over 100 carats at the time it was mined. It was sold to a well-known diamond merchant named Marcus Moses, who returned to London and presented it to King George I. The first published record of the diamond is in a newspaper from 1722: "One Mr. Marcus Moses, lately arrived from India, had the honor to wait on his Majesty with his large diamond, which is of a fine emerald green colour, and was with his Majesty near an hour. His Majesty was very much pleased with the sight thereof. It is said there never was seen the like in Europe before, being free from any defect in the world…" The magnificent diamond was reported to be valued at £10,000.
After King George I declined to purchase the diamond, Marcus Moses offered it to King Augustus I of Poland and Saxony (also known as August the Strong) for £30,000. King Augustus I is widely remembered for transforming Dresden, the capital of Saxony, into an major centre for arts, culture and architecture. He had opulent palaces and museums built, as well as the famous Green Vault in Dresden Castle to display his treasures (the largest treasure collection in Europe today). While he expressed his admiration for the green diamond, he too passed at the opportunity to purchase it.
Marcus Moses ended up selling it to a Dutch merchant named Delles, who eventually sold it to King Frederick Augustus II, the son of Augustus I at the Leipzig Fair in 1741. There is some debate around the price of purchase. It is often quoted as 200,000 thaler, but a letter of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia suggests: "for the siege of Brunn, the King of Poland was asked for heavy artillery. He refused, due to the scarcity of money; he had just spent 400,000 thaler for a large green diamond."
The green diamond was set by the court jeweller, Dinglinger, into the badge of the order of the Golden Fleece. It was redesigned only four years later by a goldsmith in Vienna, Pallard, to incorporate another famous diamond – the Dresden White Diamond along with the Dresden Green Diamond.
During the Seven Years War in 1756-63, the Dresden Green Diamond and other royal jewels from the Green Vault were moved to Königstein Fortress for safety. When the war ended, everything was returned to the Green Vault.
In 1768, the badge of the Golden Fleece was broken up. A jeweller named Diessbach was commissioned to design a magnificent hat ornament featuring Dresden Green Diamond, two white brilliant diamonds and 411 smaller diamonds. It is the setting the Dresden Green Diamond remains in to this day.
The Dresden Green Diamond continued to be on display in the Green Vault until 1942 when it was moved to Königstein Fortress at the beginning of World War II. This meant it was safely out of the way during the devastating bombing of Dresden in 1945. At the end of World War II, the diamond had been captured by the Soviets. It was returned in 1958, but since the Green Vault had been destroyed, it was put on display at the Albertinium Gallery in Dresden.
In 2000, Ronald Winston arranged for the Dresden Green Diamond to be displayed next to the Hope Diamond in the Harry Winston Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.. He remarked, “There is only one other diamond, the Dresden Green, which comes close to the Hope Diamond in rarity and uniqueness.” He had dreamed of bringing the diamonds together for twelve years.
The diamond was returned to Dresden in January 2001. By 2004, the restoration of Dresden Castle was complete including the New Green Vault. The Dresden Green Diamond and other royal jewels were officially home.
The story isn’t over yet! In November 2019, an astonishing jewellery heist took place at Dresden Castle where antique jewels were stolen worth at least €113 million ($128 million). Of course, the historical significance of these jewels makes them priceless. 21 jewels were stolen, containing more than 4,300 diamonds including the Dresden White Diamond. As one of the Green Vault’s most prized treasures, the Dresden Green Diamond would surely have been stolen too – if not for a stroke of luck. It was safely away in New York on a rare loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a special exhibition.
Having survived all it has, it is no wonder the Dresden Green Diamond is considered to bring good luck. Time to take a trip to Dresden and witness its magnificence in person!