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.