Sept. 15
This was to be a short day, as Mike was scheduled to return to Canada that afternoon. Although there was still some minor faceting to be done, Mike had cut enough of Esperanza to maintain its ‘Made in America’ provenance. He could finish the rest in Canada. The diamond now weighed 4.67 carats, and at that stage, we were confident it would finish in excess of 4.50 carats, which is pretty good considering the rough crystal’s shape.
After arriving in Prince Albert, Mike took a well-deserved break and work resumed again a day later. In between running the factory, he managed to complete the remaining 42 facets, bringing Esperanza to 4.625 carats. After some quality control and minor repair work, we decided she was ready to go to AGS Laboratories for grading.
A few days later, the lab confirmed Esperanza was internally flawless and colourless (D). There were, however, slight burn marks and minute facet misalignment on two junctions. The call was made to bring Esperanza back to our factory and aim for a flawless grading. Although some would question why we would attempt to attain this grade, Mike was adamant about wanting to give the best possible grade to one of the most unique diamonds ever discovered.
After two more days of intricate and painstaking work, we sent Esperanza back to AGS, a remarkable .002 carats lighter! However, some polish marks remained, which meant Esperanza returned to Prince Albert once again. Mike took his time on the last minor polish repairs, and we called in some GIA graduate gemmologists from Saskatchewan to assist with the final polish analysis.
At this article’s writing, Esperanza is once again at AGS for grading. We are hoping for the coveted flawless designation. If we don’t get it, we will be content with what is likely the most internally flawless, D-coloured triolette, which by most diamantaires’ standards, is sufficient in itself.
Esperanza will be presented to the public at a number of AGS retailers prior to going on the auction block in April. It will be set in a platinum pendant created by U.S. designer, Erica Courtney. As is, Esperanza is estimated to be worth at least $500,000 U.S., and that’s not taking into consideration its historical significance and all-American provenance. Whatever its final sale price, Brooke will receive 25 per cent as part of a consortium made up of ourselves, Stanley Jewelers Gemologist, and a silent investor. Not a bad return on the $8 U.S. cost of admission to the crater.
* Miller Indices is a notation system for describing a crystal face. See www.embeediatech.ca/miller-indices.
Evert P. Botha is chief operating officer (COO) of Embee Diamonds in Prince Albert, Sask., a family-owned atelier specializing in cutting and polishing high-performance diamonds. Botha can be reached via e-mail at ideal@embeediatech.ca.
