Finding Story and Gemological Features of the Spoonmaker’s (Kasikci) Diamond

Abstract

The Spoonmaker’s Diamond and its jewellery were assigned to the treasury of the modern Republic of Turkey from the Ottoman imperial heritage in 1923. It is well-known that Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire named the diamond as the spoonmaker’s and that he was the legal owner. The sultan had been mounted the loose diamond into a jewelry in around 1825. The study reveals the rumours and conflicts and some gemological features about the Spoonmaker’s Diamond (Kaşıkçı Diamond or Turkey II Diamond) which is the only one famous cut-diamond of modern Turkey; when and how the diamond was brought to the Ottoman imperial treasury and why it was given that name. Contrary to the front and side view, Kaşıkçı Diamond does not have a special diamond cut. Perspective view is one-face flat roses. Probably, to show twice as big as a diamond, the diamond was placed in a foil made of tin, which gave a symmetrical rose cut to the six stones. In addition, the base containing the symmetry was covered with a thin gold plate to hide its falseness. In order to support this fraud, even 49 small Mazarin cuts (Old-European section) or Peruzi (Old-Mine cut) anonymous diamonds were drilled into the double-row. So, the diamond has been transformed into a complex piece of jewelry. That is, in contrast to its appearance, it was not cut in the same way as primitive brilliant cuts such as the “Mazarin-cut (Old European cut)” or “Peruzzi-cut. The longest axis of the semi-pear shaped diamond is approximately 3.2 cm. The greatest width of the semi-pear is approximately 1.9 cm. The highest summit of the semi-pear is approximately 0.8 cm. The Kaşıkçı Diamond’s color grade is “G”. It shows blue fluorescence in “medium intense” under long UV-Ray, and in “weak intense” under short UV-Ray. The clarity grade of the diamond is “VS1”. The diamond has an excellent brightness. Its fire (dispersion) feature was increased by putting a tin foil with lustre surfaces under the diamond when it was mounted into Jewelry.

Keywords: Spoonmaker’s Diamond, Turkey II Diamond, Sultan Mahmud II, Istanbul Topkapi Palace, Gemology and Jewelry