The World's Most Famous
Diamonds
One of my major interests is diamonds, and famous diamonds, and gemology in
general. Since there really is no web page dedicated just to famous diamonds, I
decided to make this one. This page is strictly for educational purposes. I make no
money off this page, and never intend to.
http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/famousdiamonds.html
Birthstones
January—Garnet
February—Amethyst
March—Aquamarine or bloodstone
April—Diamond
May—Emerald
June—Moonstone, pearl, or alexandrite (the latter of which changes colors depending on
the type of light hitting the stone and in gem quality is considered more valuable than
diamond)
July—Ruby
August—Peridot or sardonyx
September—Sapphire
October—Opal or tourmaline
November—Topaz or citrine
December—Turquoise or zircon
If you read any of the captions, you might wonder what a carat is. Gemstones are
measured in carats (not carrot). 142 carats is equal to one ounce. The old carat
measurement was slightly more than the new carat. When I say old, I mean several
hundred years ago...
Gold is measured in karats. For instance, 24 K gold means that 24 of the 24 parts of the
metal are gold. 18 K means that 18 parts of the 24 are gold. (See the FAQ section.)
First, a little walk-through on the diamond subject so this page makes
more sense. :)
The Four C's
Color Diamond color is graded on a scale of the alphabet, using letters D through Z. The
letters A, B, and C aren't used. This is because when the Gemological Institute of
America invented the scale they wanted to disassociate it from jewelry stores that used
their own color grade scales. The colors D, E, and F are considered to be completely
colorless. D is of course, the best. Some famous diamonds are actually leaning towards
the Z end of the scale but aren't quite "Fancy colored", like the faint yellow 55-carat
Sancy Diamond. The largest known D-color diamond in the world is the Centenary,
which weighs 273.85 carats. The second largest is probably the Millennium Star, which
weighs 203.04 carats. Some diamonds do not fit onto the scale, such as fancy colored
diamonds. Diamonds occur in every color of the rainbow. The rarest colors are red and
purple, and combinations of those two colors. Yellow and brown are the most common
color of diamond, but colorless is the most popular as far as jewelry is concerned.
(Colored diamonds are very gradually appearing in more and more jewelry stores as they
become more well-known.) Blues and greens are very rare, especially naturally colored
stones. Some lightly colored diamonds (light light pink, light light blue, ect.) are
irradiated to make their color more intense. This means that low fields of radiation are
beamed into the cut and polished stone, darkening the outer part of the stone all the way
around. The process is permanent and professionally accepted in the diamond industry.
Probably the largest irradiated diamond is the Deepdene, a 104.88-carat golden yellow
cushion shaped stone.
The Color Scale Terms for Distinct Colors
Faint*
Very Light*
Light*
Fancy Light
Fancy
Fancy Intense
Fancy Vivid
*May fall into the lower end of the D-Z scale.
This is the color scale for brown diamonds with no secondary colors.
There are essentially 7 degrees of color intensity for brown.
The color scale for colorless to near-colorless diamonds.
A natural fancy colored diamond will cost you much much more than an irradiated one.
Such well known diamonds as the Hope, the Dresden Green, the Tiffany Yellow, the
Conde Pink, and Sultan of Morocco, the Transvaal Blue, the Wittelsbach, the Agra, and
the Great Chrysanthemum are all very very unique because they were not irradiated. One
remarkable stone, the Dresden Green, stands out amoung the naturals. It is the largest
green diamond in the world at 40.70 carats. The fact it is an historic diamond, quite large
and a natural green color with a slight blue overtone makes it virtually priceless. The
Hope is also very unusual for the same reasons, but much more famous. The stone was
originally a rather flat, blocky 110-carat rough. It was cut into a triangular pear of 68
carats, and then again into the 45.52-carat cushion cut it is today. The Conde Pink is a
pear shaped 9.01-carat pink stone once owned by Louis XIII, also a naturally colored
diamond. In January, 2002, I recieved an email from Terry J. Murray, in which he told
me the following about a red diamond that had been auctioned off at Christies Auction
House: "A rectangular-cut fancy red diamond of 0.73 carats sold for $536,000 per-carat."
This was in a May 2nd, 2001 press release on the site. Thanks Terry! :)
In 1988, Sotheby's Auction House also sold a round, 0.90-carat, VS2 clarity, vivid green
of natural color for $663,000 to an American collector. The per-carat price was over
$736,000. This per-carat price is second to the 0.95-carat Hancock Red Diamond that
sold also at Sotheby's for $880,000 (or $926,315 per-carat) on April 28, 1987. The stone
is rumored to have been bought by a man representing the Sultan of Brunei, who is said
to have one of the largest colored diamond collections in the world. All in all, a colored
diamond is going to cost more than a colorless one, but colorless diamonds will probably
always be more popular in the market.
Clarity Diamond clarity is measured on a scale of I3 to FL. These are short for Imperfect
3 and Flawless. I3 (imperfect, eye visible inclusions), I2 (imperfect, eye visible
inclusions), and I1 (imperfect, eye visible inclusions). I3 is the worst one the scale. It's so
included that it looks like there is a cottonball trapped inside the diamond. Then higher up
on the scale is SI2 (slight inclusions), and SI1 (slight inclusions). Many SI diamonds that
are finely cut may look alot better than their clarity calls for. VS2 and VS1 are the next
on the scale, standing for very small inclusions. Both the Hope and the Tiffany Yellow
Diamond are of VS1 in clarity. VVS1 and VVS2 stand for very very small inclusions.
The 137-carat Light of Peace is a VVS1 in clarity and a D in color.
IF stands for internally flawless, and then FL, which stands for flawless. In your everyday
jewelry store, an interally flawless diamond is unusual. D, E, and F-color diamonds are
fairly common, especially smaller ones. A combination of D-color and Internally
Flawless is rare, and therefore more expensive. The two largest faceted D-Internally
Flawless diamonds that I know of are the 273.85-carat Centenary Diamond and the
203.04-carat Millenium Star Diamond. The largest Internally Flawless diamond is the
Incomparable, which is a 407-carat Fancy Brownish-Yellow "triolette" shape. Flawless
diamonds are quite rare. The highest grade one usually sees is Interally Flawless. You
could search the world for a Flawless diamond but there wouldn't be much point -- an
Internally Flawless would essentially be just as good. The only difference is an Internally
Flawless diamond is allowed to have 'naturals', which are unpolished surfaces of the
original diamond crystal still remaining on the finished gem. They are usually small and
hidden from view on the pavilion side of the stone, up near the girdle. They tend to have
a glassy (but not polished) look, sometimes showing 'trigons', which are triangular
depressions characteristic of many diamond crystals. As long as that aren't visible in the
face-up diamond, they don't affect the clarity grade. However, they can't be present in a
diamond for it to receive a Flawless grading.
Cut There are many many different types of diamond cuts. The most common is the
round brilliant, which has 57 facets. There are several very common variations on the
round brilliant - the oval, the marquise, some cushion cuts, and the pear. All of which, in
standard form, have 57 facets. Other very common diamond cuts are the heart, the step,
and the princess. The sky is the limit as far as diamond cuts go. The last I heard, there are
255 registered diamond cuts.
However, the ones I just mentioned are the most common because some exotic cuts can
waste rough stone. Heart cuts have become very popular the past few years, partly
because of the booming diamond industry, and the film "Titanic", which featured a large
heart cut blue sapphire that was thrown into the ocean. The movie prop was fake.
However, after the film's release, a jewelry company faceted a heart cut sapphire identical
to the stone in the film, then mounted it in a necklace to match. People often confuse the
Hope Diamond and the 'Heart of Ocean' - both were blue, and both were surrounded by
smaller white stones. However, one is a heart cut and the other a cushion, and the 'Heart
of the Ocean' is considerably larger than the Hope Diamond. I am perpetually irritated by
people confusing the Hope with the 'Heart of the Ocean.'
Carat-Weight Carat weight is the most deciding factor as to the value of a diamond. A
well cut diamond of SI1 clarity and a weight of 4.00 carats would be worth alot more
than one of the same clarity, but weighing 1.60 carats and VS2 clarity.
The largest faceted diamond in the world is the Golden Jubilee, weighing 545.67 carats.
It is a Fancy Brownish-Yellow color and "fire rose cushion cut." It is unusual also
because it has a certain type of rare color banding. The second largest faceted diamond in
the world is the Star of Africa, also known as the Cullinan I. It weighs 530.20 carats and
is a pear shape with 74 facets. The third largest diamond in the world is the
Incomparable. It is a golden yellow-orange color, pear shaped, and weighs 407 carats.
The fourth largest faceted diamond in the world is the Cullinan II. It was cut from the
same stone as the Star of Africa - aka Cullinan I. It weighs 317.40 carats and is a cushion
cut.
Up until 2001, the most valuable diamond (price-per-carat) was the 0.95-carat fancy red
Hancock Red that had been sold at auction at Christies, NYC, for $880,000 ($926,315
per-carat). The stone was apparently purchased by a buyer representing the Sultan of
Brunei, who reputedly has one of the largest collections of fancy colored diamonds in the
world. I am not exactly sure which diamond holds the world record for the highest price
per-carat, but I am almost certain its no longer held by the Hancock Red. Time will tell!
If you find any typos on the page, please email me and I'll correct them. I had to
unlink my email address due to the amount of spam I get from internet-roaming
spambots. ragemanchoo at hotmail.com is the address. (Hotmail doesn't exactly care
to curb the spam the way Yahoo Mail does with their "This is Spam" button.)
Thanks! :)
The Agra
The Ahmadabad
The Allnatt
The American Star
The Amsterdam
The Archduke Joseph
The Arcots
The Ashberg
The Beau Sancy
The Beluga
The Black Orlov
The Blue Empress
The Blue Heart (sometimes called the Eugénie Blue)
The Blue Lili
The Blue Magic
The Briolette of India
The Centenary
The Chopard 201 Watch
The Condé (Sometimes called the Condé Pink or Le Grand Condé)
The Cullinan
The Darya-i-Nur
The De Beers (and the recently rediscovered Patiala Necklace)
The DeYoung Red
The Dresden Green
The Earth Star
The Eureka
The Excelsior
The Florentine (replica cut by Scott Sucher)
The Golden Jubilee
The Graff Unnamed Asscher Cut Diamond ring As seen in their ads in the New York
Times.
The Graff Unnamed Blue (Not to be confused with the Graff Imperial Blue, a stone
with I am still researching)
The Graff Unnamed Cushion Cut Diamond ring Also seen in their NY Times ads...
The Graff Pink Surpeme
The Great Chrysanthemum
The Gruosi
The Heart of Eternity
The Hope
The Hortensia
The Idol's Eye
The Incomparable
The Indore Pears
The Iranian Yellows
The Jonker
The Jubilee
The Kahn Canary
The Kimberly
The Koh-I-Noor
The Krupp
The La Favorite
The Millennium Star
The Mouawad Lilac
The Mouawad Magic
The Mouawad Mondera
The Mouawad Pink
The Mouna
The Moussaieff Red (formerly known as the Red Shield)
The Nepal
The Niarchos
The Nur-Ul-Ain
The Orlov (sometimes spelled 'Orloff')
The Paragon
The Peacock
The Pink Orchid
The Pink Sun Rise
The Porges
The Porter Rhodes
The Portuguese
The Premier Rose
The Pumpkin
The Red Cross
The Regent
The Rob Red
The Royal Purple Heart
The Russian Crown Jewels (Includes the Shah Diamond - the Orlov was moved to its
own section, see above)
The Sancy
The Sarah
The Shah Jahan Table Cut
The Shepard
The Spirit of de Grisogono
The Spoonmaker's (also known as the Kasikci)
The Star of America
The Star of South Africa
The Star of the East
The Star of the Season
The Star of the South
The Steinmetz Pink
The Sultan of Morocco
The Supreme Purple Star
The Taj-I-Mah
The Taylor-Burton
The Tereschenko
The Tiffany Yellow
The Tiffany Yellow II
The Transvaal Blue
The Vainer Briolette
The Victoria (sometimes called the Jacob)
The Victoria-Transvaal
The Walska
The Wittelsbach
The Zale Light of Peace
Noteworthy Unnamed Diamonds
An Unnamed 81-carat Emerald Cut D-VS1 Diamond
An Unnamed 63-carat Oval D-FL Diamond
An Unnamed 56-carat Pear-Shaped D-IF Diamond
An Unnamed 37-carat Cushion-Shaped Fancy Light Yellow Diamond
An Unnamed 20-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Oval Brilliant Diamond
An Unnamed 27-carat Pear Shape Fancy Dark Yellowish-Brown Diamond
The Fantastic Diamond Collection of Robert Mouawad (includes the Mouawad
Splendour, Queen of Holland...these will eventually be moved to their own sections, like
the other diamonds in the Mouawad collection)
Major Pieces of the Diamond Collection of Janice H. Levin
A Letter from Gabrielle Tolkowsky I wrote to him via good old-fashioned "snail mail"
around Thanksgiving of 2001. This was his reply. :)
CZ replica of the Porter Rhodes
CZ replica of the Tiffany Yellow
CZ replica of the Jonker (pronounced 'Yonker')
A replica of the Porter Rhodes Diamond, and a replica of the Tiffany Yellow Diamond,
both cut from cubic zirconia. I got them from NW Diamonds & Gems. I had the Porter
Rhodes replica set in a silver pendant and gave it to my grandmother in November of
2003. The Tiffany Yellow replica is so large that I am going to have to make my own
setting for it from scratch. It will be fun! :) The stone measures 28 × 28 mm, so it would
be futile to try and find a setting to hold a cushion-shaped gem that size. NW D&G had
one other replica of the stone, identical to mine, but it sold. They have a batch of
orangey-yellow replicas now, but I think their color is too distant from that of the actual
Tiffany Yellow. In April, 2004 I got a replica of the Jonker from them, pictured above.
The stone was intended to be a replica of the Portuguese Diamond but when the replicas
arrived, they turned out to be much more like the Jonker in proportions.
A group of multi-colored diamonds A group of three blues, three browns, two yellows,
and an orange. Big file.. 250k.
Another group of multi-coloreds Yellows, browns, some blues, oranges, and several more
shades, totalling 21 diamonds.
The Texas Faceters Guild along with a few other people scattered around the world are
working on retro-engineering famous diamond facet layouts into Gemcad so replicas of
them can be cut. Of the diamonds they have already 'completed', among them are the
Hope, Dresden Green, Incomparable, the nine Cullinan Diamonds, the Florentine, and
several others. I have these Gemcad files, if you would like any/all of them, please email
me at ragemanchoo (at) hotmail.com
Famous Diamond Replicas These stones were cut out of cubic zirconium by Scott
Sucher. The photo is © Lapidary Journal and is not to be reproduced. Many of the
diamonds shown in this photo are shown elsewhere on this page. The stones in this
picture are Cullinans I through IX, the Tiffany Yellow, the Dresden Green, the Hope, the
Sancy, the Dudley (aka Star of South Africa), the Pasha, and the Florentine. Please
contact www.lapidaryjournal.com if you'd like to subscribe to their magazine or ask them
any questions. If you need cubic zirconium rough, try some of the following sites
(Morion and Megalogs also sell YAG material ... Morion has photos of the rough and cut
CZ they offer):
www.alpha-supply.com
www.morioncompany.com
www.megalogs.com
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