The Williamson pink diamond is a flawless pink diamond sometimes worn by Princess Elizabeth on her wedding day and part of the Royal Collection.
The diamond was discovered at the Williamson diamond mine in Tanganyika in 1947. The owner of the mine, Canadian geologist John Williamson gave the uncut stone to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip upon their wedding in November 1947.[1]
The 54.5carat rough diamond was cut by London diamond cutters Briefel and Lemer in 1948, and Cartier was commissioned to create a setting for the main round brilliant cut diamond.[2]
The pink diamond became the main feature of a brooch designed by Frederick Mew of Cartier in 1952, forming the centre of a flower with five petals, with white 203 diamonds forming the petals and white baguette cut diamonds as the stalk.[3]
In 2022, its value was estimated at $33.9 million. In 2022, a similar pink diamond from the same mine but half the size (11.15 carats) was sold at an auction for $57.7 million.[4]