Diamond’s Story
"The African Queen was acquired by an American diamond manufacturer, in Gabaronne, Botswana in 2015. It began its journey as a 18.69 carat rough diamond. Typically a diamond will lose at least half its carat weight in the cutting and polishing, but this was an unusual stone with an unusual shape.
“It almost cried out to be made into a cushion-cut diamond,” said the cutter. “The rough was perfect for that shape. Because we ‘heard the cry and heeded it,’ if you will, we were able to preserve quite a bit of the weight. You might say the African Queen was formed by the Earth specifically to be a cushion, and now it’s reached its natural evolution.”
It was also chosen by De Beers to be one of its elite Forevermark diamonds meaning it carries the Forevermark promise of being beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced.
At over ten carats, the African Queen is significantly larger than a typical engagement ring, so is likely to find a home on the finger of a royal princess or perhaps a movie star. If Humphrey Bogart had given it to Katharine Hepburn, we know she’d have worn it proudly."
