Ahmadabad Diamond

 In Jean Baptise Tavernier’s book Travels in India, he describes many remarkable diamonds; one of these has become known as the Ahmadabad Diamond. Tavernier was a gem merchant and French traveler during the 1600’s. He was a famous visitor of the East; Tavernier made six visits over a period of forty years. He purchased the Ahmadabad Diamond, which at the time had no name, and it is presumed that it was cut in Ahmadabad, the capitol of Gujarat; hence the name of the diamond. In his book, Tavernier stated that at the base of the diamond there were two flaws after he initially had it cut. However, he later had one of the flaws repaired; he described it as being "as thin as a sheet of thick paper." There still remains one small flaw at the base of the diamond located on the culet facet. Although the Ahmadabad Diamond has been missing for a while, it is believed that it may have been discovered in 1995 at a sale in Geneva. The discovered diamond has magnificent beauty, as well as a minor flaw in the base. It is the shape of a pear and weighs 78.86 carats. Although the original weighed 90.5 carats, the diamond being cut into a pear shape, which was not the original outline, can explain the reduction. The discovered diamond was purchased for $4,324,554 by Robert Mouawad.