The Tiffany Diamond Legendary Yellow Diamond

The Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered in the world. The rough stone was mined in 1877 from the Kimberley Mine in South Africa, weighing an extraordinary 287.42 carats (57.484 g). After cutting, it became a magnificent 128.54-carat cushion-shaped yellow diamond with 82 facets.

Only two women in history have ever worn this legendary diamond: socialite Mrs. Mary Whitehouse and iconic actress Audrey Hepburn, who famously wore it for the promotional poster of the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The Tiffany Diamond has been mounted in four different jewelry designs throughout its history. Two of these were original creations by Jean Schlumberger, including the Ribbon Rosette necklace featured in the 1961 promotional poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the renowned Bird on a Rock design created for Schlumberger’s retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1995.

From April 18 to September 23, 2007, Tiffany & Co. loaned the diamond to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Jewelry 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—just one-third of The Tiffany Diamond.

In 2012, to commemorate and celebrate its 175th anniversary, Tiffany & Co. re-set the diamond into a platinum necklace adorned with more than 120 carats of diamonds. The mounting features a light-transmitting openwork design composed of 481 brilliant-cut diamonds.

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