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Among the most well known diamonds is the Hope.
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. 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.
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. 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
dollars. |
