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530.20 Carats - the Cullinan I or Star Africa
diamond is the largest cut diamond in the world. Pear shaped, with
74 facets, it is set in the Royal Scepter (kept with the other Crown
Jewels in the Tower of London). It was cut from the 3,106-carat
Cullian, the largest diamond crystal ever found. The Cullian was
discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in l095 on an inspection tour
of the Premier Mine. The Cullian was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company
of Amsterdam, who examined the enormous crystal for around six months
before determining how to divide it. It eventually yeilded nine
major, and 96 smaller brilliant cut stones. When the Cullian was
first discovered, certain signs suggested that it may have been
part of a much larger crystal. But no discovery of the "missing
half" has ever been authenticated.
300 Carats when found, color: slightly bluish
green, clarity: exceptionally pure, cut: Mogul-cut rose, source:
India.
This gem may be found in the Diamond Treasury of Russia in Moscow.
There are so many historical episodes involving the Orloff. First,
it may have been set at one time as the diamond eye of Vishnu's
idol (one of the Hindu Gods) in the innermost sanctuary temple in
Sriangam, before being stolen in the 1700s by a French deserter.
However, the deserter just dug one eye from its socket, because
he was terror-stricken at the thought of retribution, so he couldn't
take the other. He went to Madras, and sold the stone quickly to
an English sea-captain for 2,000 pounds.
The time passed, the stone arrived at Amsterdam where the Russian
count Grigori Orloff, an ex-lover of Empress Catherine the Great
was residing. He heard about rumors of the stone, and he bought
the diamond for 90,000 pounds and took it back to Russia for Catherine's
favor. The stone has been called the Orloff since then. Catherine
received his gift and had it mounted in the Imperial Sceptre. She
gave a marble palace to Grigori in exchange for the Orloff. However,
Grigori couldn't get Catherine's love. Grigori Orloff passed away
at the nadir of disappointment in 1783.
In 1812 the Russians, fearing that Napoleon with his Grand Army
was about to enter Moscow, hid the Orloff in a priest's tomb. Napoleon
supposedly discovered the Orloff's location and went to claim it.
However, as a solider of the Army was about to touch the Orloff,
a priest's ghost appeared and pronounced a terrible curse upon the
Army. The Emperor, Napoleon scampered away without the Orloff.
273.85 Carats, discovered at the Premier
Mine, in July 1986. The 'Centenary' diamond weighed 599.10 carats
in the rough. Together with a small select team, master-cutter Gabi
Tolkowsky took almost three years to complete its transformation
into the world's largest, most modern-cut, top-colour, flawless
diamond.
Possessing 247 facets - 164 on the stone and 83 on its girdle -
the aptly-named 'Centenary' diamond weighs 273.85 carats, and is
only surpassed in size by the 530.20 carat 'Great Star of Africa'
and the 317.40 carat 'Lesser Star of Africa', both of which are
set into the British Crown Jewels. The 'Centenary' diamond was unveiled,
appropriately at the Tower of London in May,1991.
140.50 Carats, although it is now surpassed
in weight by other famous diamonds, the exceptional limpidity and
perfect cut of the Regent give it an uncontestable reputation as
the most beautiful diamond in the world. Discovered in India in
1698, it was acquired by Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, who sent
it to England where it was cut. In 1717 the Regent purchased it
from Pitt for the French Crown. It first adorned the band of Louis
XV's silver gilt crown (in the Louvre) at his coronation in 1722,
going then to Louis XVI's crown in 1775. Later in 1801 it figured
on the hilt of the First Consul's sword (Fontainebleau, Musée Napoléon
1st), and then on the Emperor's two-edged sword in 1812. In 1825
it was worn on the crown at the coronation of Charles x, and during
the Second Empire it embellished the "Grecian diadem"
of the Empress Eugenie. It can be seen today at the Louvre in Paris.
105.60 Carats, an oval cut gem, now part
of the British Crown Jewels. The name of this diamond means "Mountain
of Light" and its history, dating back to1304, is the longest
of all famous diamonds. It was captured by the Rajahs of Malwa in
the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and remained in
the possession of later Mogul emperors. It may have been set in
the famous Peacock Throne made for Shah Jehan. After the break-up
of the Persian empire the diamond found its way to India. It may
have traveled to Afghanistan with a bodyguard of Nadir Shah, who
fled with the stone when the Shah was murdered, to be later offered
to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military help (which
was never delivered). After fighting broke out between the Sikhs
and the British, The East India Company claimed the diamond as a
partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850.
When the stone came from India, it weighed l986 carats; it was later
recut to l08.93 carats. It was first worn by the Queen in a brooch.
It was later set in the State Crown, worn by Queen Alexandra and
Queen Mary, and 1937 was worn for by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation.
It is kept in the Tower of London, with the other Crown Jewels.
70.20 Carats, a flattened pear-shaped stone
the size of a bantam's egg. Another famous diamond that was once
set in the eye of an idol before it was stolen. Legend also has
it that it was given as ransom for Princess Rasheetah by the Sheik
of Kashmir to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her.
69.42 Carats, color: F-G, clarity: IF, cut:
Pear-shape, source: Premier Mine, Transvaal, South Africa.
It was founded in 1966 in the Premier Mine in South Africa. The
rough, which weighted 240.80 carats, was cut into a 69.42 pear shape
diamond.
As you might guess from the name, Richard Burton bought and named
this stone as a gift for Elizabeth Taylor. Yes, Richard Burton bought
it $1,100,000. He also named this stone as an engagement. After
Burton's death in 1979, Liz Taylor sold the stone for charity and
reportedly received $2.8 million. She donated in his memory to a
hospital in Biafra. It was last seen in Saudi Arabia.
55 Carats, it was cut in a pear shape and
was first owned by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who lost
it in battle in 1477. The stone is in fact named after a later owner,
Seigneur de Sancy, a French Ambassador to Turkey in the late 16th
century. He loaned it to the French king, Henry III who wore
it in the cap with which he concealed his baldness. Henry
IV of France also borrowed the stone from Sancy, but it was sold
in 1664 to James I of England. In 1688, James II, last of
the Stuart kings of England, fled with it to Paris. It disappeared
during the French revolution.
45.52 Carats, the ironically named Hope diamond
(named for its purchaser, Henry Thomas Hope) may have had a long
and illustrious history before it became associated with a run of
bad luck for its owners. It is thought to be a part of the famous
Blue Tavernier Diamond, brought to Europe from India in l642. The
Blue was purchased by King Louis XIV who had it cut to 67.50 carats
from 112 carats to bring out its brilliance. The diamond was stolen
during the French Revolution, and a smaller diamond of similar color
was sold in 1830 to Hope, an English banker. After inheriting the
diamond, Hope's son lost his fortune. It was eventually acquired
by an American widow, Mrs. Edward McLean, whose family then suffered
a series of catastrophes: her only child was accidentally killed,
the family broke up, Mrs. McLean lost her money, and then committed
suicide. When Harry Winston, the New York diamond merchant, bought
the stone in 1949, many clients refused to uch the stone. It is
now on display at the Smithosonian Institute in Washington.
20 Carats, a peach colored stone, named after
the Queen of Holland, the step-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, this
gem is part of the French Crown Jewels and may be viewed at the
Louvre in Paris.
So now lets proceed and learn about diamond brokers
and diamond wholesalers.
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