Precious Indonesian diamonds in Paris show

By Kunang Helmi-Picard

PARIS (JP): With stock markets tumbling worldwide and gold barely managing to hold its own, diamonds may indeed be a girl's best friend.

Thanks to major sponsor Mouawad Jewelers, a show of 400 diamond jewels to die for, including 18 precious pieces from Indonesia, runs until July 15 at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Exceptional diamonds on display include the 60.19-carat Mouawad Mondera acquired by Robert Mouawad at a Christie's auction in Geneva last Nov. 16. It was decreed in 1907 that one carat of a gemstone equals 0.2 grams.

The Mouawad Group's collection includes many other historic or famous diamonds.

Among them is the rare stone The Spirit of De Grisogono, at 300 carats the largest known black diamond. Swiss jewelers De Grisogono are responsible for the growing popularity and value of these diamonds, whose black color is due to graphite particles.

In the 1950s Jean Schlumberger of Tiffany&Co fashioned the 128.51-carat yellow Tiffany diamond into Bird on a Rock, a stunning piece with 90 facets. Another breathtaking whiskey- colored diamond, The Eye of the Tiger with 61.50 carats, was mounted by Cartier in a turban aigrette -- a spray of gems -- for the Maharaja of Nawanagar in 1934.

Closer to Southeast Asia, the 40-carat Banjarmasin was found in Borneo and belonged to Sultan Adam of Banjarmasin. After his defeat, all the sultan's treasures were taken to Rotterdam in 1862.

Remarkably, the Banjarmasin lay forgotten in a safe for several decades. Re-cut and polished, it joined the collections of the Rijksmusuem in Amsterdam. It is on display at the Paris show for the first time since leaving Asia.

For a long time India was unique in the world for fabulous diamonds found in such places as the fabled Golconda mines. Here the French explorer and diamond collector, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689) discovered the famous Blue Diamond, later known as the Hope diamond. It now belongs to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

Diamonds were a symbol of prosperity for Hindus, and represented the enlightened conscience for Mahayana Buddhists. As such they adorned Mogul Emperors' turban ornaments, necklaces and other jewelry in India, and were mounted on Tibetan Vajra (diamond) bell handles.

An 8th century bronze Buddhist Vajra symbol from Central Java is also on display in Paris. It is among pieces gathered from the 17th century onwards from the sultanates of what was later Indonesia.

Rings, brooches, a magnificent gold pectoral ornament studded with diamonds, and kris handles have been collected from Lombok, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali. Eighteen glittering samples on show were lent by the National Museum of Indonesia.

Most jewels once worn by European royalty and aristocracy are no longer part of their wardrobe. However, there is an excellent range of such pieces at the exhibition, with diamonds from Brazil, South Africa and India.

These include jewels from the Kingdom of Portugal, such as the tiara of Queen Maris Pia made in 1863 from baroque-period diamonds, and the diamond necklace given by the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1811 to Empress Marie Louise after she bore him a son.

There is also the ring that the unfortunate Marie Antoinette removed and gave to a good friend just before she was executed, and Empress Eugenie's red currant-leaf diamond pendant.

While Louis XV's magnificent crown containing 282 diamonds is not on display, what can be seen is a portrait of Louis XIV framed in diamonds.

Such portraits, given as gifts, often had their frames dismantled by those fortunate enough to receive them. Needless to say, the diamonds were sold and the portraits probably forgotten.

Other more contemporary tiaras, created by Cartier at the beginning of the 20th century, are the diamond tiara inspired by Egypt for H.H. the Begum Andrie in 1934 and the one designed for Elizabeth, Queen of the Belgians, in 1910. Both are from the Geneva Cartier collection.

With the demise of royalty's active role in Europe, jewels belonging to the aristocracy were bought up by the 'merely' rich.

But the exhibition aims to be more than a display of fabulous wealth. It is an educational experience, with clear explanations of how diamonds are formed underground, and how they are mined and cut and polished.

The public can view various rock formations through magnifying devices. Vintage photos, mainly from South Africa, show how those who did not profit from the stones worked under terrible conditions.

Another excellent exhibition is the show of Amazon Gold at the Cernuschi Museum for Asian Art in Avenue Velasquez, which also runs until July 15.

The Amazons referred to here are the mythical women warriors and horseriders of Central Asia, said to have existed between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C.

Gold ornaments, some of them sewn on clothes, are stunning and in pristine condition. They were only recently excavated and have never been displayed before. Many came from the tomb of the Sarmate Princess of Kobiakovo, discovered in 1987. Turquoise and coral decorate the ancient gold pieces which bear witness to sophisticated metalwork.

(The internet site of the diamond show is http://www.mnhn.fr/diamants and the 352-page illustrated catalogue in French, Diamants, is published by Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle/Adam Biro/Groupe Mouawad. It has 400 color illustrations and costs 390 French francs.)