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World's Largest Diamonds
The largest faceted diamond in
the world is the Golden Jubilee, weighing 545.67 carats.
It is a Fancy Brownish-Yellow color and "fire rose
cushion cut." It is unusual also because it has a
certain type of rare color banding.
The second largest faceted
diamond in the world is the Star of Africa, also known
as the Cullinan I. It weighs 530.20 carats and is a pear
shape with 74 facets. The third largest diamond in the
world is the Incomparable. It is a golden yellow-orange
color, pear shaped, and weighs 407 carats. The fourth
largest faceted diamond in the world is the Cullinan II.
It was cut from the same stone as the Star of Africa -
aka Cullinan I. It weighs 317.40 carats and is a cushion
cut.
Enjoy reading more about these largest and
enchanting diamonds below that made history...
The KO-HI-NOOR
This beautiful gem is one
of the largest diamonds in the world. It weighed 186
carats when discovered around 1300. This oval shaped
stone was initially set in the peacock throne of
Shah Jahan, the famous Indian ruler known to have
built Taj Mahal. It was reshaped during the reign of
Queen Victoria, and now it weighs 108 carats and
famous in British Crown Jewels.
Read more...
The Cullinan
This gem has been named
after Sir Thomas Cullinan, owner of a mining
company. This diamond is considered to be the
largest diamond in the world weighing 3106 carats.
It was cut by Asscher in Amsterdam into 105
beautiful diamonds, the largest of them weighing
530.20 carats having 74 facets, called the Star of
Africa. The Cullinan now resides in the Tower of
London and is set in the scepter of King Edward VII.
Read more...
The Excelsior
The Excelsior is the
second largest diamond ever found. It originally
weighed 995.2 carats. It is believed that an African
mine worker found the diamond and he kept the find
secret until he could safely sell it to his mine
manager, who in turn rewarded him with some money, a
horse and a saddle. The diamond was cut into ten
pieces, the three largest weighing 158, 147 and 130
carats. These pieces were then cut into 21 gems
ranging from 70 carats to less than 1 carat. All
these pieces were sold to undisclosed parties. The
Excelsior was bought by Robert Mouawad in 1996.
Read more...
The Orloff
The Orloff is the worlds
3rd largest cut diamond that weighs 194 carats and
is aid to resemble the shape of half of the Hen’s
egg. It was once fitted in one of the eyes of the
idol Sheringham, in the temple of Brahma during the
18th century, Mysore. Later it was acquired by the
Shah Nadir, The Iranian conqueror and ruler. In 1775
it was given to Catherine II of Russia by Grigori
Orloff, one of her ex-lovers, and has been called
the Orloff diamond since then....
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The Idols Eye
The Idol's Eye is a
famous pear shaped diamond, its polished size
weighing in at 70.20 carats makes it one of the
worlds largest diamonds. The name of the stone comes
from the legend claiming that the Sheik of Kashmir
stole it from an idols eye to pay the Sultan of
Turkey a ransom for Princess Rasheetah. The
diamond is actually something of a triangular Old
Mine cut, but rather than having 8 main facets it
has 9, along with 9 pavilion main facets
corresponding. There are also a number of
non-symmetrical facets scattered around the crown
and pavilion of the stone.
Read more...
The Centenary
The Centenary diamond was
discovered at Premier Mine, located in South Africa
on 17th July 1986. It weighed 599.10 carats when
uncut. Master diamond cutter Gabi Tolkowsky took
almost three years to complete its transformation
into the world's largest, modern-cut flawless
diamond. The Centenary has 75 facets on top, 89 on
the bottom and 83 on the girdle, for a total of 247
facets. It weighs 273.85 carats and now forms part
of the British Crown Jewels
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The Premier Rose
The Premier Rose was
discovered in 1978. The diamond weighed 353.9 carats
and was cut into three diamonds known as the Premier
Rose family. All of them qualify to be the world’s
largest diamonds. The largest of the three was named
Premier Rose and now weighs 137.02 carats. It is cut
with 189 facets, and is the second largest pear
shaped diamond in the world. It was sold in 1979 for
$10,000,000.00.
Read more...
The Regent
The Regent diamond was
discovered in 1701 by an Indian slave in Golconda
mines near Kistna river. It weighed 410 carats when
uncut. It was then sold to Thomas Pitt (a British
Merchant involved with trade in India) by an Indian
merchant who had purchased the diamond from an
English sea captain. The English captain had in turn
stolen the diamond from the slave who had found it.
Thomas Pitt sent the diamond to England with his
eldest son. It was cut into a cushion shaped
brilliant of 140.50 carats and, until it was sold to
the Duke of Orleans, the French regent after
attempts of selling it to Louis XIV in 1717. It was
then renamed The Regent and set in the crown jewels
of France. Louis XIV wore the diamond at his
coronation. After the French revolution, it was
owned by Napoleon Bonaparte who set it in the hilt
of his sword. It now remains in French royal
Treasury at Louvre and is on display there since
1887.
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The Blue Hope
The Blue Hope diamond was
once owned by Louis XIV and officially designated
the *blue diamond of the crown*. It was stolen
during the French Revolution but showed up again in
1830 and was bought by Henry Philip Hope of London.
The diamond then was named after the new owner. The
Blue Hope Diamond is believed to have an infamous
reputation. It was donated to the Smithsonian,
Washington.
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The Sancy
The famous Sancy diamond
is named after one of its owners Seigneur de Sancy,
a French Ambassador to Turkey in the late 16th
century. It was first owned by Charles the Bold,
Duke of Burgundy, who lost it in battle in 1477. He
loaned it to the French king, Henry III, who wore it
in the cap with which he concealed his premature
baldness. Henry IV of France also borrowed the stone
as a security for financing an army, but it was sold
in 1664 to James I of England. In 1688, James II,
King of England, fled with it to Paris and it has
never been found since. The Sancy weighed 55
carats...
Read more...
The Taylor-Burton
The famous Taylor-Burton
diamond of the Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
love story was found in the Premier mine in 1966,
the rough stone weighed 240.80 carats. The famous
diamond was purchased by Harry Winston who
commissioned the stone cleaved into two pieces, the
larger piece weighed 162 carats and was eventually
cut into a pear shaped 69.42 carat diamond. It was
later auctioned for $1,050,000 and named the
"Cartier" after Cartier Inc. paid the record price
at the auction. The diamond was then purchased by
Richard Burton and was given to Elizabeth Taylor and
renamed the Taylor-Burton. In 1978, following her
divorce from Richard Burton, Elizabeth put it up for
sale to raise funds for a hospital in Botswana. The
current owner is Robert Mouawad, President of the
Mouawad Group.
Read more...
World's Famous Diamonds
Passion. Murder.
Insanity. Intrigue. Envy. A mere hint of the fascinating
stories behind the world's most remarkable diamonds.
Many have been associated with famous names - the likes
of Napoleon … Sultan Babur … Lady Astor … Shah Jehan …
Queen Victoria … Catherine the Great … Elizabeth Taylor.
Others have inspired awe and legend on account of their
size, origins or unique qualities. Since nearly the dawn
of time, diamonds have encrusted the armor of great
warriors,...
World's Famous Diamond Mines
The
oldest and most famous diamond mine in North America is
the Crater of Diamonds which is just south of
Murfreesboro, Arkansas. In 1906, diamonds were found
after John Wesley Huddleston bought the land to farm.
He noticed two small stones in the bottom of the bucket
of cattle feed. The stones were sent to Little
Rock jeweler who sent them to Tiffany's in New York and,...
World's Renowned Diamond Cutting Centers
Diamonds being easily transportable and being of high
value allows them to be moved to the most efficient and
economic locations for further processing. The several
factors that are considered in determining the location
of a diamond cutting facility...
Diamonds and De Beers - The Story of the
Diamond Cartel
For more than 100 years, the name De Beers has
evoked all glamour and mystery radiated by a diamond. Through shrewd
marketing and careful manipulation of the market, the South African company
has parlayed these pieces of crystallized carbon into
multi-billion-dollar-a-year business empire. De Beers has truly a family
affair. Built around the twin pillars of De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.
and Angelo American Corporation of South Africa, the Oppenheimer dynasty
controls most of the world's diamond mining and trade and is one of the
biggest multi-nationals. They are the world's leading diamond producers...
Read more...
Read about Diamond History,
Diamond Trade, Buying Tips and more...
The Romans believed that diamonds brought
courage and bravery during battle. Jewish high priests used diamonds to
decide the innocence or guilt of the accused: A stone held before a
guilty person dulled and darkened; a stone held before an innocent
person glowed with increased brilliance. The Hindus believed that this
brilliant gem was created when....
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World's Largest Diamonds
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