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Lady Heart Diamond Collection
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) is pleased to present for the first time on public exhibition The Lady Heart Diamond Collection from February 1 to June 30, 2013. Each of the five diamonds in this exceedingly rare collection is a different amazing color: red, pink, orange, yellow and blue. The stones are all heart-shaped in cut, ranging in weight from 1.71 to 2.28 carats. They are set in separate pieces of jewelry custom designed for this temporary exhibition in NHM’s Gem and Mineral Hall “Gem Vault.”
"A heart-shaped diamond itself is immensely rare,” says Bernard Bachoura, a fourth generation jeweler from Southern California’s Sophia Fiori and designer of The Lady Heart Diamond Collection. “While the diamond is in the rough, the final shape of the stone is determined by the diamond cutter based on which shape will best maximize carat weight, symmetry, and value. The unusual heart shape requires the cutter to sacrifice significant carat weight in order to achieve the desired result. It makes the heart shape a risk the cutter must be certain he or she is willing to take." As of the diamonds themselves, the grade of Fancy Vivid color given by the Gemological Institution of America (GIA) to each single diamond in the collection represents the best grade for a colored diamond. According to GIA, over the millions of diamonds mined each year, only a handful achieves this top grade. The pure red color of the 1.71-carat diamond is the most sought-after in the gem market today, while the 2.00-carat pure orange diamond is probably the rarest to be found.
The Lady Orquidea is a 2.00 carat Fancy Vivid Orange diamond heart mounted in a heart shaped bezel accented with pave white diamonds.