Diamonds Events Fancy Colored DiamondsNovember 28, 2019 By Bebe Bakhshi

The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond meets The Art of A Handmade Masterpiece

On November 14th during a marvelous evening filled with art, music and ballet, Harry Kotlar in partnership with B.C. Clark unveiled a handmade masterpiece that is cradling The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond!

The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond is a symbol of a long lasting family business established in 1892 by B.C. Clark. Still family owned with Jim, Coleman and Mitchell Clark at the helm of the brand, B.C. Clark is a prominent jewelry house in Oklahoma. After nearly seven years of searching the globe, finally B.C. Clark family found the one diamond that would honor their family legacy!

A 38.05ct rough diamond was discovered from the ocean floor just off the coast of Namibia, Africa at the depth of 140 meters via De Beers Debmarine Namibia Vessel. The stone was laser-sawn to two parts, yielding a magnificent 18.92ct not only to fit BC Clark’s desire carat size (company’s founding year) but to create the most brilliant diamond with fancy intense yellow color that is as radiant as Oklahoma sunset! There is a SOL to the Heart of Oklahoma, a beautiful 5.01ct fancy yellow radiant-cut diamond yield from the same rough. The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond is a fascinating 18.92ct fancy intense yellow, internally flawless radiant cut diamond.

THE GENESIS EXHIBITION

After perfecting the diamond, B.C. Clark partnered with Harry Kotlar to use their old world technique of hand making jewelry. Harry Kotlar studied the family business, origin, B.C. Clark Sr. adventures back in the 1800’s in Indian & Oklahoma territories, the age of industrialism and steam locomotives to finally design a masterpiece that reminiscent all of the characteristics and legacy of B.C. Clark. The result is a sensational handmade masterpiece cradling The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond flanked with six perfectly custom cut tapered baguette diamonds. There is a surprise disc underneath the stone, a rose-gold disc representing the railway turntable in Purcell that is a significant part in B.C. Clark, Sr.’s voyage to find success in Indian Territory back in 1892.

It all started with a geometric design, a rough sketch and David Wiener, Harry Kotlar‘s grand son and head designer, discussing intricacies of the piece with the design team. After that the illustration is passed to the gouache artist to render the painting. From gouache painting to hand forging the metal, hand setting the diamonds and hand polishing the ring, everything is done by a small team of master artisans who have dedicated their lives to a specific element of jewelry-making to create the masterpiece that cradles the Heart of Oklahoma Diamond.

Harry Kotlar team went above and beyond to create an event that was exploring facets of art and style to showcase this masterpiece in an unprecedented way, beyond jewelry as we know it! Czarah Cabrera Creative Director and Director of Brand Management for Harry Kotlar had a vision in mind and that was Van Gogh’s Starry Night! Over the term of six month planning under her creative direction, the atrium in 101 Park Avenue is re imagined into a film and visual exhibit space using elements if scenes painted by Vincent Van Gogh. Yellow tones, twinkling colors of the night sky, blue waters and velvety blue sky applied to the space as tribute to The Heart of Oklahoma Diamond and homage to the jewelry design house’s long legacy of commitment to its pursuit of perfection and preserving the lost art of hand making the best jewels by its Italian master artisans.

Both Tracey and I had the pleasure of being invited to attend this spectacular event as guests of Harry Kotlar and B.C. Clark family, an unforgettable memory that we will cherish forever.

Here you can watch a 3 minute film revealing the art of hand making the masterpiece by Harry Kotlar master artisans, co directed by Czarah Cabrera & Ace Salvador: