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«On Tuesday last, in the afternoon, one Mr. Marcus Moses, lately arrived from India, had the honor to wait on his Majesty with his large green diamond…»
That’s how the story of The Dresden Green – the world’s largest green diamond – started.
Initially discovered in India, it was purchased by Friedrich Augustus II in 1741. Augustus II was the elector of Saxony, king of Poland, and grand duke of Lithuania. According to the rumors, he spent a fortune on this 41 ct gemstone. 400.000 thalers he paid were an enormous sum of money at the time, that would have been worth about four tons of gold.
A year later Augustus II commissioned the court jeweler to incorporate the Diamond into a badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece (the most important chivalric order in Europe). However, eventually Augustus II incorporated the Dresden Green into a different setting. This time it was the second badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
The young grandson of Augustus II decided to transform the jewel into a more fashionable piece. So his jeweler, Franz Michael Diespach, slightly changed the appearance of the Golden Fleece and used the stone as the dominant component of a complex and ornate hat design.
Diespach’s hat ornament, in which the Green Diamond remains today, is part of the “Brilliant Garniture,” one of the two largest garnitures in the Saxon collection.
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According to the 1988 GIA examination of the Dresden Green, it weighs 40.70 ct and demonstrates the perfect color distribution throughout the whole gemstone and the VS1 clarity. It is a treasure of exceptional quality, rarity and beauty.
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