On the Enigma of the Portuguese Diamond.

Abstract

The Portuguese Diamond is the largest faceted diamond in the National Gem Collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC; with an emerald cut at 127.01 carats is almost a perfect octagonal gem. Its name was given by the last private owner, Harry Winston, on the basis that once it had belonged to the Portuguese crown jewels. Yet, the mystery follows in that several authors say, with greater emphasis nowadays, that the name “The Portuguese Diamond” came from a mistaken legend. The first goal of this paper is to show that there is strong iconic evidence that the diamond belonged to King José I of Portugal in the eighteenth century and, presumably, with a lesser degree of certainty, to other following sovereigns of the house of Bragança (Braganza). Subsidiary goals are the disambiguation with some other Brazilian precious stones mentioned in news or other sources. One will also look for establishing a plausible documented origin of the Portuguese Diamond, then giving some possible clues on the fate and oblivion of the diamond for about a century, until its resurgence in the USA. Last, it is sketched a framework of its semiotic convolution as an object of desire and an index of power, from the Portuguese royalty into the veil of secrecy, and then to the American capitalist democracy.