Russian Miner Unveils Rare Diamonds Named for Romanov Dynasty

(Bloomberg) -- The most-expensive diamond ever polished in Russia will be shown in Moscow as part of a collection of gems named after the dynasties of Romanov-era Imperial Court.

In 2015, Alrosa PJSC discovered a giant, 179 carat-rough diamond in a mine in the north-east region of Sakha, naming it Romanov after the family that ruled for more than 300 years before the Russian Revolution.

The diamond was cut and polished into five smaller gems, with the largest one called Dynasty and weighing 51.4 carats. Alrosa named the other gems after noble families of the imperial era: Sheremetyev, Orlov, Vorontsov and Usupov. The company also plans to start sales of polishing gems online, head of polishing Pavel Vinikhin told reporters on Tuesday.

“The diamonds of the collection are named after the dynasties that played an important role in the development of Russian jewelry business,” Alrosa said in a statement.

Alrosa will show the diamonds at a press event on Tuesday and hold another viewing in September for potential buyers in Hong Kong. It plans to auction the diamonds as a set in November.

The show is a rarity for Alrosa, which specializes in digging up rough diamonds, but not polishing them. Chief Executive Officer Sergey Ivanov, who took the job this year, has batted away worries that the company would move into the polishing business. He said in July that he's not planning any dramatic shift in strategy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Liezel Hill