Founded in 1912, M.S. Rau stands as one of North America’s most respected fine art, antiques and jewelry galleries. The 40,000-square-foot gallery features carefully selected works from a diverse array of artists and makers who have defined the fine and decorative arts over the centuries. These museum-quality offerings are bolstered by Rau’s team of experts, who ensure that each piece is thoroughly vetted for quality and authenticity. Furthermore, the jewelry boutique at M.S. Rau continues in the gallery’s century-long tradition of offering only the best in its category with a collection that includes high jewelry and one-of-a-kind gemstones. A commitment to quality, historic value and beauty underpins each of the gallery’s acquisitions; it is a commitment that allows Rau to present only the most exceptional in fine art, antiques and jewels.
Over the many years, M.S. Rouse had some extraordinary pieces of jewelry,
but what I'm about to show you may be the pinnacle of them all.
This extraordinary pair of earrings is special in so many different ways.
The Gemological Institute of America grades diamonds from D, which is considered colorless,
all the way to Z, which of course has a lot of color. However, the greatest diamonds in the world
are about two to three shades whiter than the whitest D-colored diamond,
and those are the ones that came from the Golconda Mines. The Golconda Mines were mined
from about 900 A.D. to 1600 A.D. in India, outside of Hyderabad, and these mines produced something
that no other mine ever did exclusively, and that is diamonds with zero nitrogen in them.
The diamonds from this mine, some of the most famous diamonds in the world came from this,
including the ones in the British Royal Crown, the Persian Royal Crown, the Hope Diamond. These
were nitrogen-free diamonds, and thus chemically purer than every other diamond. In all of my
years, I've never seen a single kite-shaped diamond from the Golconda Mines that is also
internally false, much less a pair. The kite shape is very rare, and it's rare for two reasons. The
first reason is it can only be cut on the finest example of a diamond there is, something very
clean, because a kite shape being open, it would show any flaws. The second reason is the kite
shape, when cut, creates an incredible amount of waste, and so one loses a lot of weight of the
diamond. To find an antique kite shape Golconda diamond like these, that's pure white, internally
flawless, with the glow of only a kite diamond could have, is something truly extraordinary. When
one looks at a Golconda diamond, it's like looking at a piece of frozen ice. It is purer, richer,
and finer than any other diamond ever mined. To say these are beautiful is the greatest
understatement one could actually say. They are stunning. These right here are the greatest pair
of earrings I have ever seen.
