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.