"Some things happen every day in the world by Divine Providence...Including the fact that in a remote corner of the world were discovered Pearls and Precious Stones...And G-d helps to see in these events how the world itself helps and brings The Redemption".

(Speech Of The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Parashat Acharei-Kedoshim 5751) 

The history of the Moussaieff Red Diamond is relatively uneventful; however, it gained international attention due to its unparalleled colour and size. Although 5.11 carats may not seem very large, the Moussaieff Red is the largest fancy red diamond ever found. 

The history of the Moussaieff Red Diamond traces back to late 20th century Brazil. It was discovered by a Brazillian farmer in a mesoregion known as Zona da Mata Mineira of Minas Gerais in the 1990s.

Minas Gerais is undoubtedly one of the most legendary mining regions producing some of the world's largest diamonds, several of them richly coloured.

Upon discovering this rare beauty, an intensely coloured red diamond in the rough weighing 13.90 carats (2.78 g), the farmer put it up for sale. Shortly the gem was purchased by the American diamond expert William Goldberg, the creator of the Ashoka cut.

It required him five trips to South America to secure the stone, but it was worth it. Goldberg brought back to New York a deep red, type lla diamond, whose frequency of occurrence is less than 0.1% of all naturally occurring diamonds.

After much study, William Goldberg and his team decided that the diamond would be cut into a modified triangular brilliant, known as a trilliant cut. What emerged from the master cutters was the largest fancy red, internally flawless diamond known, weighing 5.11 carats, the original name of which was the Red Shield Diamond. 

Sometime between 2001 and 2002, the Red Shield Diamond was purchased from Goldberg by Shlomo Moussaieff, an Israel-born London jeweller and the founder of Moussaieff Jewellers Ltd. The stunning diamond was acquired for an estimated $8 million and renamed the Moussaieff Red Diamond.

In 2003, the Moussaieff Red was displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The gem was included in "The Splendour of Diamonds" exhibition and dazzled thousands of visitors with its unrivalled colour and unique shape. It was displayed alongside such beauties as the Millennium Star, the Heart of Eternity, the Pumpkin Diamond, the Allnatt Diamond, the Steinmetz Pink and the Ocean Dream Diamond.

In 2005, the Moussaieff Red Diamond was displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History again. It was exhibited as a part of a display showing eight of the most incredible diamonds in the world. The other diamonds included the Allnatt, the Heart of Eternity, the Millennium Star, the Ocean Dream, the Steinmetz Pink, the Incomparable and the 616 Diamond.

Today the red diamond is among the top ten most expensive diamonds in the world, worth an estimated $20 million according to some sources.

The city of Nancy in France has the privilege of hosting "Big Fabri", a unique and invaluable diamond that is of great interest to scientists.

It is one of the best kept mysteries in the world. A unique diamond is being examined by researchers at the Center de Recherches Petrographiques et Geochemiques de Nancy-Vandoeuvre (CRPG), the "world leader" in non-destructive analysis at the microscopic scale, reports L'Est Républicain. The commercial value of this diamond measuring one cubic centimeter is unknown, but French scientists are interested in it because of the secrets it contains and could reveal about the planet Earth.

"Big Fabri", named after the Italian scientist Fabrizio Nestola, is a diamond whose origin lies at 470 kilometers deep in the Brazilian mines of Juìna. He appeared on the surface of the Earth through deep volcanic explosions, says the regional daily. Unbelievable, according to CRPG researchers: "Man is now able to explore space and put machines on meteorites, but the deepest borehole on earth has hardly exceeded 12 to 13 km! "

His unknown origin is what makes this diamond particularly interesting: "This specimen allows us to make an incredible jump in the underground space of our planet but also in time," says one at the CRPG. Some diamonds may have formed millions or even billions of years ago, reports L'Est Républicain.

Its composition could help to better understand the bowels of the Earth. According to the researchers of the United Kingdom, ringwoodite, the mineral in the diamond, is a hydrated mineral that has been able to stay that way because it is protected inside the stone.

Conclusion: The existence of this priceless diamond confirms the presence of very large quantities of water in the terrestrial mantle of the planet, to a hitherto unknown depth. Who knows, the examination of this diamond may perhaps allow researchers to break through, finally, the secrets of the world...