They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
Well, so are rubies, pendants and in factory other type of jewel.
And while jewels mostly add to the beauty of the person who is wearing it or the place where it is kept,
there are some jewels who are more than just precious.
Here’s a look at some of the world’s most famous jewels.
20.
The Great Star of Africa.
The great star of Africa, also known as the cullinan diamond,
is the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found.
It weighs a massive 3106.75 carats and was discovered in 1905 in South Africa.
So huge was the diamond that it was cut into 105 gems with the biggest being 530 carats!
It was set into the sceptre of King Edward VII and today rests in the Tower of London!
The diamond is today valued at over 400 million dollars,
and is one of the most expensive stones in the world.
19.
The Hope Diamond.
When a diamond sparks off many mysteries and legends, it has to be special right?
The 45.52 carat diamond has a deep grayish blue tinge which made it extra special as
it was also one of the earliest coloured diamonds discovered.
The diamond sits in between a ring a 16 diamonds at the Smithsonian today
and is one of the most famous diamonds ever!
But does that justify its valuation at 350 million dollars? Probably!
18.
Panther Bracelet.
Wallis Simpson is known for the jewels she owns.
And one of the finest pieces that she possesses is the panther bracelet
which has become known for its fine artisanship.
It once belonged to King Edward III but changed hands anonymously for $ 12 million!
The bracelet resembles a panther with green emeralds for eyes!
It has been designed by Cartier and is one of the most expensive bracelets around!
17.
The Tiffany Yellow.
A 128 carat yellow cushion cut diamond,
the Tiffany Yellow today sits at its flagship store in Manhattan.
It was supposedly discovered in the Kimberley mines and weighs around 287.42 carat.
What makes it even more special is that it has only been worn twice in its long history
and was part of the bird on a rock displayin the 1960s.
When it was valued in 1983, the Tiffany Yellow’s price was set at 12 million!
16.
The Dresden Green.
The largest naturally green diamond in the world, the Dresden green weighs in at around 41 carats.
The diamond’s history dates back to the 18th century,
and is on display at the Dresden castle in Germany today.
In fact, such is the importance of the diamond that it is hoped that it can help differentiate
between naturally occurring green diamonds and lab produced ones!
15.
The Graff Pink.
Coloured diamonds are timelessly in vogue, and the Graff pink is no exception.
It was originally a 24.78 carat diamond and after Laurence Graff got his hands on it,
he removed around 20 flaws and it is now considered a flawless pink diamond,
with no internal defects!
No wonder it had a hefty price tag of $45 million, that too, in 2010!
14.
The Kohinoor.
Perhaps one of the most controversial diamonds around,
the Kohinoor has passed many hands in its history.
It originally started out as a 793 carat stone, and has been passed around for over 5000 years
and today it sits on the coronation crown of Queen Elizabeth,
after it passed into British hands from the Indians.
It is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world
and was probably found at the Kollur mines in India,
although much of its history has been widely debated!
While its price has not been determined, it is the most valued jewel in the crown of the
British empire which is valued at around 12 billion dollars!
13.
Princess Diana’s Engagement Ring.
Well any ring worn by the Princess would be famous and much talked about.
But what made this one so special was that it was not special at all.
It was featured in a jewellery collection, and almost anybody could purchase it.
Provided they had $60,000 at the time!
The 18 carat Ceylon sapphire ring is surrounded by 17 round diamonds and has even become a
legacy since Prince William gave it to Kate Middleton when he asked for her hand!
12.
Marie Louise Diadem.
Napoleon was a pretty badass world leader.
So when he decided to gift his bride a diadem, it would be incredible right?
But the Marie Louise diadem is intriguing even without the historical significance!
The original diadem had emeralds embedded in it
but they were later replaced with 79 Persian turquoise stones in the 1950s
so that the emeralds could be sold individually!
There is a 1006 years old mine cut diamond adorning the diadem
and it can currently be found at the Smithsonian.
It was bought for over 4 and a half million dollars by the Louvre museum in 2004!
11.
Star of India Sapphire.
Easily one of the largest gems in the world at 563.35 carats, the sapphire is almost flawless
and has a stunning star shaped marks on both sides!
The stone has a milky quality to it which is probably caused by the mineral rutile and
that probably gave it the star shape as well.
It was originally mined in Sri Lanka and can be found today at the American Museum of natural history.
The sapphire is currently worth more than 300 million dollars!
10.
The Hortensia Diamond.
The step daughter of Napoleon was also the Queen of Holland.
And this fabulous jewel is named after her!
During the revolution, the ring was snatched and was found later in Paris.
It was mined in India and has a pale orange pink hue.
9.
The American Golden Topaz.
When it comes to size, not many can match up to the American Golden Topaz.
It weighs a stunning 22,892 carats and is the largest cut yellow topaz in the world.
It is currently a part of the Smithsonian Museum’s collection and originated from
Mias Gerais in Brazil.
It took almost 2 years to cut it into its current shape!
8.
Orlov Diamond.
Part of the collection of diamond fund of the Moscow kremlin, the orlov diamond is said
to be in the shape of half an egg!
Its origins are traced to 18th century in India
and apparently adorned the eye of a statue there.
That was before a French deserter removed it
and legends say that he died upon touching the diamond!
It has a faint bluish green tinge and is considered one of the most beautiful diamonds in the world.
In 2006, the Orlov diamond was auctioned off for $352,000!
7.
Spoonmakers Diamond.
The Topkapi palace museum is known for its treasures and perhaps the centrepiece in all
that magnificence is the spoonmakers diamond.
It is an 86 carat, pear shaped stone and has many stories attached with it.
One of them says that a fisherman found it on the shore among the litter
and carried it in his pockets for a few days before going to a jewellers.
He was duped of course, with the jeweller saying that it was a piece of glass
and giving the fisherman 3 spoons for his troubles.
That is how the spoonmaker got its name though!
Although its current value is not known, there is no doubt that it is worth much more that
what the poor fisherman got for it!
6.
Strawn Wagner Diamond.
In the US, there is a place called crater of diamonds.
And perhaps the most famous discovery here was the strawn wagner diamond.
The diamond was originally 3.09 carats but after cutting it became 1.09 carats.
But while its weight might not be that impressive,
the fact is that the diamond was given a perfect score
by the Gemological institute which means that there are no flaws in cut,
colour or clarity of the Strawn Wagner.
This type of diamond is extremely rare and it is supposed that it was a one in a billion discovery.
No wonder it is currently valued at $1 million!
5.
Sancy Diamond.
First owned by the duke of burgundy who lost it in a battle, the sancy diamond is a 55 carat,
pear shaped diamond.
Supposedly, it was used by the French King Henry III
who put in it the cap he wore to hide his baldness.
Sadly though, the diamond changed a few hands
but was ultimately lost during the French revolution.
Hopefully it is recovered some day soon!
4.
Blue Giant of the Orient.
When it comes to sapphires, blue is the rarest of the colours.
So when a huge, 466 carat blue sapphire was found in 1907 off the coast of Sri Lanka,
there was much excitement.
The gem displayed a strong orange-red fluorescence and although it was sold to an anonymous buyer
at the time and went missing, it resurfaced in 2004 in Geneva.
But the sapphire went unsold at that auction and was later picked up for a paltry sum of
a million dollars, when its worth is much more than that!
3.
The Olympic Australis.
In 1956, when the Olympic games were being held in Australia, a mining town in South
Australia discovered the largest and most valuable opal at a depth of 29 feet!
It was promptly named Olympic Australis after the country and the games
and weighed an enormous 17000 carats!
It was valued at 2.5 million dollars in 2005 and because the rock is unique,
it has been left untouched!
2.
Darya-ye Noor Diamond.
Literally translated, it means ocean of light.
The diamond is 182 carats and is pale pink in colour.
The diamond deserves royalty and perhaps that is why it is a part of the Iranian crown jewels.
It was one of the diamonds that nadir Shah took back from India along with the Kohinoor
and the peacock throne in return for giving the throne back to the Mughals.
Shah took it back to Iran with him where it still resides in the Central bank of Iran.
1.
Golden Jubilee Diamond.
When a worker in South Africa discovered a large brown diamond weighing 755.5 carats,
there was not much excitement because many thought it was ugly.
But when it was cut over a period of 2 years in a specially designed underground room,
it turned into a beautiful yellow brown diamond which weighed 545.7 carats and is currently
the largest cut diamond in the world valued at anything between 4 to 12 million dollars!
Have you ever seen any of these famous jewels?
Or do you know of any diamonds which compare to any of these?
If so, do let us know what you think of them in the comments below and remember to subscribe
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