The Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. Unearthed in 1877 from the Kimberley Mine in South Africa, the rough stone weighed 287.42 carats (57.484 g). After being expertly cut, it became a 128.54-carat cushion-shaped yellow diamond with 82 facets, radiating extraordinary brilliance. Throughout history, only two women have ever worn this magnificent gem — Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, a prominent socialite, and Audrey Hepburn, who famously wore it in the promotional photos for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Over the years, The Tiffany Diamond has been mounted in four different settings, two of which were original creations by the legendary designer Jean Schlumberger: the Ribbon Rosette necklace featured in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and the iconic Bird on a Rock design showcased during Schlumberger’s 1995 retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. From April 18 to September 23, 2007, Tiffany & Co. loaned the diamond to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where curator Jeffrey E. Post described it as “the largest diamond ever exhibited in the United States.” By comparison, the famous Hope Diamond weighs only 45.5 carats—about one-third the size of the Tiffany Diamond. In 2012, to celebrate Tiffany’s 175th anniversary, the diamond was reset into a platinum necklace adorned with over 120 carats of white diamonds. Its openwork setting, composed of 481 sparkling stones, allows light to pass through freely, illuminating the legendary yellow diamond in all its resplendent glory.
