Famous Diamonds Throughout History
Diamonds have on more than one occasion played a pivotal role throughout history. There is speculation that the French revolution may have gone differently if the Austrian general, the Duke of Brunswick, at the head of the troops had not been bribed by the French revolutionaries who smuggled the French Blue to him. He lost important ground with some baffling decisions and the French were not overcome by his troops. The story of this stone is told by Richard Kurin in his fantastic and well researched book Blue Hope, published by Smithsonian Books. This stone was eventually cut into at least 2 pieces, one of which his daughter Caroline brought to England when she married Prince George IV. This diamond would later become known as the Hope Diamond.
It is now one of the most well known diamonds in the world. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond
is currently on display at the Smithsonian. The legends of the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope Diamond are many. This diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958 by Harry Winston. The Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky 110-carat rough.
The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored diamonds. It is the largest green diamond in the world weighing 40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large and has a natural green color with a slight blue overtone. These facts make it virtually priceless.
The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01-carats. This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII. Pink diamonds are so rare that this is quite incredible for a 9 carat pink diamond to have been in circulation at that time. There are still very few large pink diamonds, the largest of which is on display at the Melbourne Museum, Australia. It weighs 12.76 carats and is the largest pink diamond ever found. It is uncut, but is still beautiful. Its possible value is somewhere around $15 million. The stone was donated to the Melbourne Museum by Rio Tinto.
I'm often asked about pink diamonds and alternatives to pink diamonds. My suggestion is that people go for a pink sapphire instead. unless they have over million dollars to spend.
The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. The gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, was the largest golden-yellow in the world.
The Koh-I-Noor ( Mountain of Light ) is now among the British Crown Jewels. This diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.
The Agra is graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990. Since this sale, it has been modified to a cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.
The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal, South Africa.
The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered in the summer of 1963, in a South African diamond field. This 198.28-carat fancy brown diamond appeared to be a light honey color in its rough state. However, after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt orange.
The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped 69.42 carat diamond. Cartier of New York purchased this diamond at an auction in 1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the diamond for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the "Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the diamond up for sale. For the privilege of seeing the diamond prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each. This went to cover the costs of showing it. It was in June of 1979, that the diamond was eventually sold. It went for nearly $3 million dollars.
The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored diamonds. It is the largest green diamond in the world weighing 40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large and has a natural green color with a slight blue overtone. These facts make it virtually priceless.
The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01-carats. This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII. Pink diamonds are so rare that this is quite incredible for a 9 carat pink diamond to have been in circulation at that time. There are still very few large pink diamonds, the largest of which is on display at the Melbourne Museum, Australia. It weighs 12.76 carats and is the largest pink diamond ever found. It is uncut, but is still beautiful. Its possible value is somewhere around $15 million. The stone was donated to the Melbourne Museum by Rio Tinto.
I'm often asked about pink diamonds and alternatives to pink diamonds. My suggestion is that people go for a pink sapphire instead. unless they have over million dollars to spend.
The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. The gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, was the largest golden-yellow in the world.
The Koh-I-Noor ( Mountain of Light ) is now among the British Crown Jewels. This diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.
The Agra is graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990. Since this sale, it has been modified to a cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.
The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal, South Africa.
The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered in the summer of 1963, in a South African diamond field. This 198.28-carat fancy brown diamond appeared to be a light honey color in its rough state. However, after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt orange.
The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped 69.42 carat diamond. Cartier of New York purchased this diamond at an auction in 1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the diamond for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the "Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the diamond up for sale. For the privilege of seeing the diamond prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each. This went to cover the costs of showing it. It was in June of 1979, that the diamond was eventually sold. It went for nearly $3 million dollars.
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