Precious Indonesian diamonds in Paris show

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.)