Mouna Diamond — A 112-Carat Fancy Intense Yellow
Mouna Diamond — A 112-Carat Fancy Intense Yellow
Among the largest known fancy intense yellow diamonds in private hands
The Mouna Diamond is a faceted fancy intense yellow diamond weighing approximately 112.53 carats, notable for its combination of size, colour saturation, and clarity. The stone is among the largest known examples of a saturated fancy yellow diamond and is one of the relatively small group of yellow diamonds over 100 carats in either private or institutional ownership. Yellow diamonds of this magnitude are extremely rare and command pricing structures that reflect both the intrinsic rarity of the colour grade at this size and the limited market depth for stones of comparable scale.
Yellow diamond colour mechanism
Yellow colour in natural diamond derives principally from substitutional nitrogen impurities in the carbon lattice. Isolated single nitrogen atoms (the so-called Type Ib diamond classification) produce a distinct strong yellow coloration; aggregated nitrogen in the more common Type IaA and Type IaB configurations produce yellow colours through different absorption mechanisms. The intensity of the yellow body colour increases with the concentration and configuration of nitrogen, with the most saturated naturally-occurring stones — fancy vivid and fancy intense yellow grades — representing the rarest end of the natural-colour spectrum.
GIA's coloured diamond grading scale runs from faint and very light through fancy light, fancy, fancy intense, fancy vivid, and fancy deep, with each grade boundary representing a meaningful step in saturation. Fancy intense yellow at the 100-carat-plus weight range is commercially scarce and trades in the high-value coloured-diamond segment alongside fancy vivid yellows, large pinks, and significant blues.
Provenance
The Mouna Diamond's specific provenance — discovery location, original rough weight, cutting house, and current ownership — is not extensively published. Stones in this category often pass between collectors and through dealer channels with limited public disclosure, and individual stones may be associated with a particular dealer's inventory at one period and with private custody at another. The Mouna name attaches to the stone by association with one of the dealer or family connections in its history.
Comparable stones and context
Other significant yellow diamonds for context include the Tiffany Yellow (128.54 ct, fancy yellow, in the Tiffany & Co. collection), the Allnatt Diamond (101.29 ct, fancy vivid yellow, formerly Cap. Alfred Ernest Allnatt), the Star of the South (128 ct from the original Brazilian rough; cut), the Sun-Drop Diamond (110.03 ct, fancy vivid yellow, sold at Sotheby's in 2011 for over USD 12 million), and the Graff Vivid Yellow (100.09 ct, fancy vivid yellow). The Mouna falls into this peer group of significant 100-carat-plus yellow diamonds and competes for attention against this comparable set.
In the trade
For the rare commerce in 100-carat-plus fancy intense yellow diamonds, GIA grading reports and provenance documentation are decisive. Buyers should expect comprehensive grading documentation, photographic documentation of the stone, and where available, history of previous ownership. The market for stones in this class is small and concentrated among a handful of dealers, auction houses, and private collectors, with transactions frequently conducted privately rather than at public auction.