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Some of the masterpieces of the diamond world
The Hope diamond is among the most well known diamonds in the world. Originally a rather flat, blocky 110 carat rough stone, this 45.52 carat steel-blue diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian. There are several legends about the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope Diamond. This diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored diamonds. This almond-shaped stone is the largest apple-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 rare characteristics make it virtually priceless. The Conde Pink, also known as the Conde Diamond or Le Grand Conde, is a pale pink pear-shaped diamond weighing 9.01 carats. This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII. The Tiffany Yellow diamond is one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds ever discovered. A beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 carats in the rough, it was discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa and is the property of Tiffany & Co. After cutting, the diamond weighs an amazing128.54 carats. In the 1960s, this yellow diamond was fashioned into an art piece, Bird on a Rock. The Koh-I-Noor (Mountain of Light ), now among the British Crown Jewels and adorning the crown of the Queen of England, is perhaps the most famous of diamonds. This diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is believed that it was once set in Shah Jahan‘s famous peacock throne as one of the peacock’s eyes. The Agra diamond is graded as a naturally colored fancy light pink stone 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 a Pear cut diamond weighing 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, this now 104.15 carat diamond 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 Inc. of New York paid the record price of $1,050,000 for 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 diamond was sold for nearly $3 million.
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