Uncle Sam is the nickname for the largest diamond ever discovered in the United States. It was found in 1924 in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, at the Prairie Creek pipe mine, which later became known as the Crater of Diamonds State Park. The diamond was named "Uncle Sam" after the nickname of its finder, Wesley Oley Basham, a worker at the Arkansas Diamond Corporation.[1][2][3]
Uncle Sam diamond
The rough diamond as originally discovered weighed 40.23 carats (8.046 g). It was faceted twice by Schenck & Van Haelen of New York, which specialized in Arkansas diamonds, handling over 14,000. The company described those diamonds as being so hard that they could only be cut using powder of other Arkansas diamonds.[4] The final result was a 12.42-carat (2.484 g) emerald-cut gem. It was characterized as M on the diamond color scale; this nominally corresponds to a faint yellow color, but the visual impression of Uncle Sam has been variously described as white[1] or slight pink.[2] Judging from the color, the diamond is most likely of pure IIa diamond type, meaning the number of impurities it has is only a few parts per million. The clarity of the stone was assessed as VVS1, which stands for Very Very Slightly Included and means the stone has minute non-diamond inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification.[2]
The diamond was owned by Peikin Jewelers of Fifth Avenue, New York. It was lent by Peikin to the American Museum of Natural History for temporary display and storage. According to some reports, in 1971 it was acquired by a Boston dealer, Sidney de Young, and sold for US$150,000 to an anonymous private collector.[5][6]
The discovery of Uncle Sam arguably rescued the Arkansas Diamond Corporation, which had a debt over $276,470 (equivalent to $4.9 million in 2023) by that time and was going to be shut down in the winter of 1924. The number of diamonds found on the surface was decreasing, and the cost of digging operations was estimated as higher than the expected diamond recovery. The value of the diamond was not sufficient to cover the debts, but the discovery lifted spirits enough to keep the surface operations going.[8]
^Cavenago-Bignami Moneta, Speranza (1980). Gemmologia (in Italian). Hoepli Editore. p. 441. ISBN88-203-1145-3. Retrieved September 3, 2022 – via Google Books.
^ ab"Discovering the Uncle Sam | Arkansas State Parks". www.arkansasstateparks.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
^"The Big One". The Pike County Archives and History Society. from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
External linksedit
Images of the at the ThinkQuest online library.
Another image of the Uncle Sam diamond at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
April 10, 2024
uncle, diamond, uncle, nickname, largest, diamond, ever, discovered, united, states, found, 1924, murfreesboro, arkansas, prairie, creek, pipe, mine, which, later, became, known, crater, diamonds, state, park, diamond, named, uncle, after, nickname, finder, we. Uncle Sam is the nickname for the largest diamond ever discovered in the United States It was found in 1924 in Murfreesboro Arkansas at the Prairie Creek pipe mine which later became known as the Crater of Diamonds State Park The diamond was named Uncle Sam after the nickname of its finder Wesley Oley Basham a worker at the Arkansas Diamond Corporation 1 2 3 Uncle Sam diamondThe rough diamond as originally discovered weighed 40 23 carats 8 046 g It was faceted twice by Schenck amp Van Haelen of New York which specialized in Arkansas diamonds handling over 14 000 The company described those diamonds as being so hard that they could only be cut using powder of other Arkansas diamonds 4 The final result was a 12 42 carat 2 484 g emerald cut gem It was characterized as M on the diamond color scale this nominally corresponds to a faint yellow color but the visual impression of Uncle Sam has been variously described as white 1 or slight pink 2 Judging from the color the diamond is most likely of pure IIa diamond type meaning the number of impurities it has is only a few parts per million The clarity of the stone was assessed as VVS1 which stands for Very Very Slightly Included and means the stone has minute non diamond inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification 2 The diamond was owned by Peikin Jewelers of Fifth Avenue New York It was lent by Peikin to the American Museum of Natural History for temporary display and storage According to some reports in 1971 it was acquired by a Boston dealer Sidney de Young and sold for US 150 000 to an anonymous private collector 5 6 It was later acquired by Peter Buck who donated it to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in June of 2022 7 It is displayed alongside the Canary Diamond an uncut stone found at the Arkansas site in 1917 7 The discovery of Uncle Sam arguably rescued the Arkansas Diamond Corporation which had a debt over 276 470 equivalent to 4 9 million in 2023 by that time and was going to be shut down in the winter of 1924 The number of diamonds found on the surface was decreasing and the cost of digging operations was estimated as higher than the expected diamond recovery The value of the diamond was not sufficient to cover the debts but the discovery lifted spirits enough to keep the surface operations going 8 See also editCrater of Diamonds State Park List of diamondsReferences edit a b Uncle Sam Diamond hardasrocks info Archived from the original on March 7 2016 Retrieved September 3 2022 a b c Larif Dr Shihaan ed Uncle Sam Diamond Famous Diamonds internetstones com Archived from the original on August 18 2022 Retrieved August 5 2009 Cox Waymon July 2022 Discovering the Uncle Sam Crater of Diamonds State Park Archived from the original on July 7 2022 Retrieved September 3 2022 Roberts Janine P 2003 Glitter amp Greed The Secret World of the Diamond Empire The Disinformation Company p 108 ISBN 0 9713942 9 6 via Google Books Cavenago Bignami Moneta Speranza 1980 Gemmologia in Italian Hoepli Editore p 441 ISBN 88 203 1145 3 Retrieved September 3 2022 via Google Books Dickinson Joan Y 2001 The Book of Diamonds Courier Dover Publications p 117 ISBN 0 486 41816 2 Retrieved September 3 2022 via Google Books a b Discovering the Uncle Sam Arkansas State Parks www arkansasstateparks com Retrieved January 27 2023 The Big One The Pike County Archives and History Society Archived from the original on September 4 2022 Retrieved August 5 2009 External links editImages of the Uncle Sam diamond at the ThinkQuest online library Another image of the Uncle Sam diamond at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Uncle Sam diamond amp oldid 1198193877, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
