NOS DIAMANTS DE LÉGENDE

The story of the Premier Rose is as extraordinary as the stone itself. Plucked from a conveyor belt by an alert miner, the rough stone weighed 354 carats — an almost inconceivable find at South Africa’s Premier Mine, which rarely produces gem diamonds of any size. After making 60 trial runs to see how the stone could be cut, a daring decision was made at William Goldberg. The stone would be sawn against the grain. Months of sawing, cutting and polishing yielded three diamonds — the magnificent pear shape, 137.02 carat D Internally Flawless Premier Rose, the Little Rose, a beautiful 31 carat, pear shape diamond and the Baby Rose, a 2 carat brilliant.

South Africa yields many of the world’s most captivating diamonds, and the Blue Lili is among them. As William Goldberg was shaping the stone, the diamond's vivid blue color and fiery character reminded him of someone close to his heart, his wife, Lili. Its intense color, remarkable size and stunning cut make the Blue Lili one of the rarest blue diamonds in history.

The odd-shaped stone arrived at William Goldberg as a 265.82 carat rough with secrets waiting to be revealed. But its interior and any imperfections were hidden by its frosted exterior. The first cut uncovered its rare quality — a risk handsomely rewarded. After months of patiently shaping the diamond, the Beluga emerged and became the largest D Flawless oval-cut diamond in history. It now resides in a “Royal Collection,” a fitting home for this regal gem.

In the rough, the Guinea Star weighed over 255 carats. William Goldberg saw great potential and bought it, even though at the time it was the highest price ever paid for a rough diamond, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. After months of cutting and polishing, using intuition and experience to visualize what was inside, the gamble paid off. Three magnificent D Flawless diamonds emerged: two satellite diamonds, an 8.23 carat pear shape and a 5.03 carat heart shape; and a diamond for the ages — the incomparable 89.01 carat Guinea Star.

Of South African origin, The Pumpkin came to William Goldberg as a brownish-orange 11 carat rough. As the cutting started, a unique orange color was revealed. Typically, diamonds in the orange hue are darker, less saturated and often modified by brown. But this stone had an intense orange color that added to its rarity and led to its name, The Pumpkin. At the time, 1997, it was graded as the largest Fancy Vivid Orange diamond in the world and was later sold at Sotheby’s.

William Goldberg knew he had been given a rare opportunity. The chance to purchase a piece of red Brazilian rough weighing a stunning 13.90 carats. It would take five trips to South America before he was able to bring the stone back to New York. He then studied it for months before creating a 5.11 carat, Fancy Red, internally flawless masterpiece. The GIA report on this remarkable diamond stated, “It is the largest Fancy Red, natural color diamond that we have graded as of the date the report was issued.”

Part of the beauty and mystery of diamonds is that no two are the same. On rare occasions, one finds a diamond like the Briolette, which arrived at William Goldberg as a 160.50 carat rough. After an arduous, six-month process of carefully shaping the diamond to reflect the perfect balance of light from its surface and its heart, the 75.51 carat Briolette was born and certified by the GIA as the largest briolette-shaped, flawless diamond graded at the time.

When it arrived as a 40 carat rough, William Goldberg was taken with the vivid color and character of the stone. What was not known was whether the stone would come clean and if the color would stay rich. With good cutting instincts and good fortune, the stone ended up being a world-class pink diamond unlike any other. It is now in the hands of a private collector.