Famous Diamonds History : Love & Passion Made it


Royal Feuds, Intrigues, Betrayals and Murders- this and more about the last 5 Famous diamonds of the world. This makes this 2 part concluding series on the World's Famous Diamonds an interesting read. To begin with......

1. The Largest Faceted Diamond In The World -The Golden Jubilee

In 1985 the Golden Jubilee diamond was discovered in the Premier mine in South Africa. It was first known as the Unnamed Brown, because of its brown color. The Golden Jubilee is the largest faceted diamond in the world today. The Golden Jubilee weighs 545 carats and was cut by the master cutter Gabi Tolkowsky in a fire rose cushion cut. The diamond was considered as a rather ugly stone, but Gabi Tolkowsky produced with special tools and cutting methods a glittering yellow-brown beauty of a diamond. The Unnamed Brown became the Golden Jubilee when King Rama IX of Thailand (also known as King Bhumibol Adulyadej theGreat) was given the stone to the 50th anniversary of his coronation in 1997.

2. Largest Blue White Diamond Found - Excelsior

The Excelsior was found in Africa in 1893. The rough diamond weighed 995,2 carats, was blue-white colored and had some black spots inside. The shape of the diamond was unusual - flat on one side, a peak on the other side.

The name Excelsior comes apparently from this peak, since Excelsior means higher. The Excelsior diamond was cleaved in several pieces. The three largest pieces weighed 158, 147 and 130 carats.

The smaller pieces weighed from 70 carats to under 1 carat each. Why it was decided to cut this large beautiful diamond into pieces stays unclear. The Excelsior diamonds were sold separately. Some were bought by Tiffany & Co, some are said to be purchased by De Beers.

3.Did u know that Largest Indian Rose Cut Diamond has a Russian name- Orlov

The Orlov (sometimes Orloff or Orlow) diamond is one of the most famous Russian diamonds and is part of the Treasures of the Diamond Fund. The Orlov diamond was mounted in the Imperial Sceptre of Catherine the Great. It weighs 198,62 carats and has a slight blue-green color. The diamond is shaped like the half of a pigeon’s egg and has a small indentation on one side.

The Orlov is special, because it has still its original Indian rose cut. It is said the the Orlov diamond was once part of an Hindu temple statue. It was stolen by a French deserter who sold the diamond in Madras. The diamond traveled through Europe and was finally purchased by the Russian Count Orlov who helped Catherine to the throne and was also her lover. Catherine took the diamond, but she didn’t take the lover back. Count Orlov died lonely in a mental asylum, but the diamond still has his name.

There are still speculations that the Orlov diamond is identical with another famous diamond which is long lost: the Great Mogul. The unusual cut, the special facets and the slight indentation could be the sign that the Orlov is indeed the Great Mogul

4. If diamonds could speak, none could match this one for the wild tales it could tell - Sancy

Sancy Diamond, a mere 55.232 carats and surrounded by a simple circle of white gold, resides in its case like a demure young lady at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Yet, if diamonds could speak, none could match the Sancy for the wild tales it could tell. It would keep a listener spellbound with a thousand-and-one stories of war and intrigue, pomp and ceremony, and the foibles and follies of the monarchs, lords, ladies, moneymen, and schemers who owned, lusted after, and even killed to posses it.

The Sancy Diamond's 600-year odyssey-a labyrinthine journey begins in the fabled mines of Golconda, India, and wends its way across three continents and through some of the most spectacular events in European history.

Once the largest white diamond in the Western world, the Sancy was thought to impart invincibility to whoever wore it. Paradoxically, it was also believed to be the source of an ancient curse that visited a violent death to any who owned it. Over the centuries, the diamond adorned the crowns of several French royals. Henry III of France suffered from premature baldness and tried to conceal this fact by wearing a cap. As diamonds were becoming increasingly fashionable at the time, Henry arranged to borrow de Sancy's diamond to decorate his cap. Later the diamond was sold to Kind James I of England, who wore it as a lucky hatpin. In the fifteenth century, it was lost on the field of battle by Charles the Bold of Burgundy only to be found by a Swiss soldier who sold it for one florin to a priest from Basel.

In the sixteenth century, while en route to be pawned to raise a mercenary Swiss army, it was ripped from the vitals of King Henry IV's hapless courier who had swallowed it in order to conceal it from robbers. Won and lost by the kings of Portugal and lusted after by several Spanish monarchs, the elusive Sancy was hotly pursued for decades by England's Elizabeth I, stolen from the Louvre and secreted under the floorboards of a Parisian garret during the French Revolution, and was instrumental in Napoleon's meteoric rise to power. It then passes among the royal and noble houses of Europe, from John Galeazzo di Visconti, Duke of Milan in the fourteenth century, to England's Charles I, France's Louis XVI, a Russian prince of serf origins, and ultimately, the British Astors.

In between in 1865, there are records to state that it was bought by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. It was finally sold by the 4th Viscount Astor to the Louvre for $1 million in 1978. The Sancy now rests in the Apollo Gallery, sharing attention with the likes of the Regent and the Hortensia.

5. This is a new kid on the block, born 1990- The Millennium Star

The Millennium Star is a blue diamond with the shape of a teardrop (or a pear) and weighs 204.04 carats. It is the second largest faceted D-Flawless diamond with perfect proportions in the world. The largest diamond is the Centenary diamond with 273.15 carats. The Millennium Star was cut from a rough diamond of magic 777 carats. The original diamond was found in Zaire in 1990 and was purchased by De Beers. The cutters of the De Beers Group needed three years to perfect the classic shape of the diamond with 54 facets Actress Sophie Marceau had the honor to present the Millennium Star.

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