Most Famous Diamonds

What are 10 of the Most Famous Diamonds?

There are many well known diamonds that became famous for different reasons. Most of the famous diamonds are coloured diamonds. Here are some interesting facts about ten of the most famous diamonds.

The Hope Diamond

One of the most well known diamonds is the Hope Diamond. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian. The Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky 110-carat rough. 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 diamond dealer Harry Winston. After he was convinced to donate the diamond to the Institute, he packed the diamond and had it sent via ordinary package, costing $2.44. When the package arrived to the institute, the postman was met by reporters with cameras.

One of the most famous diamonds was pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond

Other Famous Diamonds

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 Cullinan Diamond was the largest rough diamond ever found, in South Africa's Cullinan mine no. 2, in 1905. It weighed just over 625 grams (0,6 kg), or 3,106.74 carats. It was bought as a gift to King Edward VII, for what was then huge amount of 150,000 British pounds. While the fake package was being escorted with a strong security to the British Islands, the real diamond was brought in to England in an ordinary cardboard box.

The Conde Pink diamond is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01 carats. This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII.

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 diamond (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 diamond 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 diamond 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.

One of the most famous on-screen couples were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, after whom was named the Taylor-Burton diamond.

Taylor Burton Diamond

This is perhaps one of the best known famous diamonds. 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. Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each to view the diamond to cover the costs of showing it. Finally, in June of 1979, the Taylor Burton diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

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