Famous Diamonds

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.