DeYoung Red Diamond
{{Short description|Third-largest red diamond in the world}}
{{Distinguish|Kazanjian Red Diamond|Moussaieff Red Diamond}}
{{Infobox diamond
| name = DeYoung Red Diamond
| image = DeYoung Red Diamond 01.jpg
| caption = DeYoung Red Diamond
| weight = {{convert|5.03|carat|g|abbr=out}}
| color = Deep red with slight brown tint
| cut = Modified round brilliant
| mine =
| country =
| cutter =
| found =
| original_owner =
| owner = Smithsonian Institution
| value = USD$5 million or lower
}}
{{Coord|38|53|27.2|N|77|01|32.2|W|display=title}}
The DeYoung Red Diamond is a 5.03-carat unmounted rare red diamond. It is the third-largest red diamond in the world, and the only one on public display. Sydney DeYoung (for whom the diamond is named{{cite web|title=The De Young Red Diamond|url=http://www.leibish.com/the-de-young-red-article-280|website=leibish.com|accessdate=3 April 2015}}) obtained the diamond, which was mistaken for a garnet, at a flea market. The diamond was given to the Smithsonian Institution after DeYoung's death in 1986.
Description
The DeYoung Red Diamond is a 5.03-carat unmounted diamond.{{cite news|last1=Andrews|first1=Robert M.|title=Rare Red Diamond Goes On Display At Smithsonian Museum|url=https://apnews.com/4a6a6e9a6dc5728aa062e85196c072c8|accessdate=3 April 2015|work=Associated Press News|date=2 February 1988}} It is a deep red color,{{cite web|title=DeYoung Red Diamond [G9871]|url=http://geogallery.si.edu/index.php/en/1007278/deyoung-red-diamond|website=geogallery.si.edu|accessdate=3 April 2015}} with a slight tint of brown. Red diamonds are the rarest type of colored diamonds.{{cite web|title=Kazanjian Red Diamond|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/kazanjian-red-diamond|website=amnh.org|accessdate=4 April 2015}}{{cite web|title=About Natural Red Diamonds|url=http://www.leibish.com/natural-red-diamonds-article-120|website=leibish.com|accessdate=3 April 2015}} The diamond is a modified round brilliant cut. The facets on the diamond's crown, which resemble kites, are split in two horizontally. This feature makes the DeYoung diamond more brilliant than other diamonds with an ordinary round brilliant cut. The DeYoung Red Diamond is the third-largest red diamond,{{cite book|author=Lesley-Ann Stanghon|title=The Handy Butler: Your Home Guide to Conversions and House Hold Queries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltsoGC1TGE8C&pg=PA122|accessdate=3 April 2015|date=March 2010|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4490-8598-8|page=122}} behind only the 5.05-carat Kazanjian Red Diamond (second-largest) and the 5.11-carat Moussaieff Red Diamond (largest).{{cite web|last1=Samad|first1=Lareef A.|title=DeYoung Red Diamond|url=http://www.internetstones.com/de-young-red-diamond-famous-jewelry.html|website=internetstones.com|accessdate=3 April 2015}} Its clarity grade is VS-2 (Very Slightly Included). The diamond is a Type IIa diamond, meaning that it does not have any chemical impurities. Type IIa diamonds comprise only 1–2% of all naturally occurring diamonds.
Ownership
File:DeYoung Red Diamond on display.jpg
The diamond was purchased at a flea market by Sydney DeYoung (1897–1986{{cite web|title=The DeYoung Collection|url=http://www.thedeyoungcollection.com/smithsonian.html|website=thedeyoungcollection.com|accessdate=3 April 2015}}), a Boston jewelry seller. The diamond, which was mistaken for a garnet, was on a hatpin being sold as part of an estate jewelry collection. Upon later examining the stone, however, DeYoung noted that it was of unusually high quality for its age and did not have the appearance of a garnet. He had it tested at a gem-testing laboratory, and it was discovered that the stone was actually a red diamond.
After DeYoung's death in 1986, the diamond was given to the Smithsonian Institution's National Gem and Mineral Collection, a part of the National Museum of Natural History, in accordance with DeYoung's wishes. The Smithsonian received the diamond in 1987; it was mailed to the Smithsonian uninsured in an ordinary box. The diamond, which is protected by bulletproof glass in the Hall of Gems, is the only red diamond on public display; all the others are privately owned. Another diamond given by DeYoung in 1962, a 2.90-carat pear-shaped pink diamond obtained from Williamson mine in Tanzania, is displayed alongside the red diamond.