House of Mouawad, the prestigious jewellers situated in the heart of New Bond Street, is proud to unveil its dazzling, world-famous diamond collection. Mouawad is renowned for its vast array of valuable and rare gems, which includes eight of the fourteen most valuable diamonds in the world as well as an impressive collection of other precious gems. Mr Robert Mouawad, Chairman & President, has purchased stunning diamonds since 1976, to create the amazing Mouawad diamond collection, now worth well over US $100 million. On his passion for diamonds, Robert Mouawad states, "Each diamond has its own personality, comparable to meeting a beautiful person or visiting a breath-taking place".

The Mouawad Diamond Collection:
Among the diamond collection are 7 stones named after the House of Mouawad:
(1) the Mouawad Magic, the largest D Internally Flawless emerald cut diamond weighing 108.81 carats,
(2) the Mouawad Splendor, a splendid D Flawless pear shap diamond weighing 101.84 carats bought by Mr Mouawad in 1990,
(3) the Mouawad Monolith, a stunning D Internally Flawless emerald-cut diamond weighing 104.2 carats,
(4) the Mouawad White, a unique D Internally Flawless marquise cut diamond weighing 48.28 carats,
(5) the Mouawad Blue, an exceptional fancy blue pear shape diamond weighing 42.92 carats,
(6) the Mouawad Pink, a spectacular fancy pink octagon shape diamond weighing 21.06 carats and
(7) the Mouawad Lilac, a fancy pink diamond with a eye-catching lilac appearance weighing 24.44 carats.

The two largest diamonds in the collection, and Mr Mouawad's personal favourites include:

The Jubilee - a magnificent colourless cushion-shaped diamond weighing an amazing 245.35 carats, ranked sixth largest in the world. The original rough stone was discovered in 1895 weighing 650.80 carats and was in the shape of an irregular octahedron without definite faces. It was named the Jubilee to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. The diamond is now owned by Mr Robert Mouawad. (Momentum p116)

Premier Rose - pear-shaped diamond weighing 137.02 carats making it the sixth largest pear-shaped diamond in existence and the largest stone of this quality to have been graded by the Gemmological Institute of America and has an estimated value of ?20 million. (Momentum p117)

Other famous diamonds that make part of the collection are:

1.Queen of Holland - this beautiful diamond was originally purchased by the Maharajah of Nawangar and set by Cartier as a centrepiece to the magnificent ceremonial pendant to be worn by the Prince of Holland. Cartier then purchased the diamond from the Maharajah family in 1960. In 1978 William Goldberg of New York purchased and recut the diamond from 136.25 carats to its present weight of 135.92 carats. The Queen of Holland is now owned by Robert Mouawad and worth over ?15 million. (Momentum p118)

2. Ahmedabad - an impressive pear shape diamond weighing 78.86 carats with an origin steeped in history. It was thought to have been firstly owned by Louis XIV of France as a briolette shape. The Ahmedabad was then reported to have belonged to the wife of King Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh who traded the diamond during fleeing to Nepal.

When the diamond reappeared it had transformed from a briolette to its present pear shape and possessed a minor flaw at its base. It was purchased by Robert Mouawad in 1995 and is currently valued at over $5 million. (Momentum p119)

3. Excelsior - originally weighing 995.2 carats, this stone claims to be the Great Unknown of famous diamonds and is the world's second largest rough gem of its kind. It possesses a marvellous blue-white colour with internal black spots characteristic of the finest Jagersfontein diamonds. It was due to the diamond's unusual shape, flat one on side, rising to a peak on the other that it was named the Excelsior, meaning higher. At the beginning of the 20th Century the Excelsior was cut into ten smaller diamonds. The most historic gem from this collection was the Excelsior I, a pear shaped diamond weighing 69.68 carats, which was purchased by Robert Mouawad in 1996 for $2,642,800. (Momentum p115)

4. Taylor Burton - This famous diamond, a beautiful 69.42 carat pear-shaped flawless gem, was originally bought by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor. It was initially displayed at Cartier's New York store with crowds of up to 6,000 a day flocking to see it, and was first worn in public by Elizabeth Taylor when she attended Princess Grace's fortieth birthday party in Monaco. Following her divorce from Burton in 1978, Taylor announced her plans to sell the diamond to raise money for the third world. In December 1979 the Taylor Burton was bought by Robert Mouawad.

5. Star of Abdel Aziz - a modern cut diamond purchased by Robert Mouawad at an auction in New York in 1988. The Star of Abdel-Aziz is a 59-carat 'D' flawless pear shape named after His Majesty King Fahd's youngest son.

6. Indore Pairs - these two pear shaped diamonds weighing 46.39 and 44.14 carats have a very dark past and are linked to the Malabar Hill Murder which took place in January 1925. This involved a girl who worked for the Maharajah of Indore. The Maharanee wore the diamonds on several occasions and later sold them to Harry Winston in 1946. They changed hands several times before being bought by Mr Robert Mouawad. (Momentum p121)

7. Mouawad Mondera - a superb flawless pear-shaped diamond weighing 60.19 carats. This breathtaking diamond is both unique in colour and clarity with excellent finish and proportions, ranking it a world-class gem. Robert Mouawad purchased the Mouawad Mondera, the latest in his impressive collection, on 16th November 2000. He named it Mondera, to represent both the traditional world of the family jeweller and the new face represented by Mondera.com, the jewellery e-tailers founded by his sons. The Mouawad Mondera is worth in excess of ?3,500,000.

The 'Diamant' Exhibition in Paris

Mouawad is the main sponsor of the incredible 'Diamants' Exhibition at the National Natural History Museum in Paris. The event is due to be held in March and is set to be the world's biggest diamond exhibition ever, covering 1600m? and including the largest vault in Paris. Mouawad will be exhibiting many of the very special diamonds within its famous collection, as well as some of its most exquisite pieces of jewellery. House of Mouawad will be inviting a selection of key journalists to the premiere of this fascinating event, to include an overnight stay in its divine 5* Hotel de Vend?me - in the heart of the Parisian haute couture district.

For further information on House of Mouawad's diamond collection or the exhibition in Paris, please contact

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