Hope Diamond[]
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The Hope Diamond is a large, 45.52 carats (9.10 g), deep-blue diamond, housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. The Hope Diamond is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but it exhibits red phosphorescence under ultraviolet light. It is classified as a Type IIb diamond, and is famous for supposedly being cursed. It is currently unset for the first time since it has been on display.
Koh-I-Noor Diamond[]
The Kōh-i Nūr (Hindi: कोहिनूर, Persian/Urdu: کوہ نور, Telugu: కోహినూరు) which means "Mountain of Light" from Persian, also spelled Kohinoor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat (21.6 g) diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kohinoor originated at Kollur, Guntur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It has belonged to various Hindu, Mughal, Persian, Afghan, Sikh and British rulers who fought bitterly over it at various points in history and seized it as a spoil of war time and again. It was finally seized by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. Given the long history of the diamond, many countries claim it. Other claims have been made by India. The gem remains in the Tower of London.
Great Star of Africa[]
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g). The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the 'Great Star of Africa', and at 530.2 carats (106.0 g) was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, 545.67 carats (109.13 g), also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross. The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.5 g), is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Both gems are in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Orloff Diamond[]
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The Orlov (sometimes spelled Orloff) is a large diamond that is part of the collection of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin. The origin of this resplendent relic – described as having the shape and proportions of half a hen's egg – can be traced back to a Hindu temple in 18th century Tamil Nadu, southern India. The Orlov is a rarity among historic diamonds, for it retains its original Indian rose-style cut. Its colour is widely stated as white with a faint bluish-green tinge. Data released by the Kremlin give the Orlov's m weight being 189.62 carats (37.924 g). The weight is just an estimate – it hasn't formally been weighed in many years.
Sancy Diamond[]
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The Sancy, a pale yellow diamond of 55.23 carats (11.05 g), was once reputed to have belonged to the Great Moguls of antiquity, but is more likely of Indian origin owing to its cut which is unusual by Western standards. The shield-shaped stone comprises two back-to-back crowns (the typical upper half of a stone) but lacks any semblance to a pavilion (the lower portion of a stone, below the girdle or midsection).
The Sancy's known history began circa 1570 in Constantinople when purchased by Nicholas Harlai, Seigneur de Sancy. He was popular in the French Court and was later French Ambassador to Turkey. The Sancy now rests in the Apollo Gallery, sharing attention with the likes of the Regent and the Hortensia.
Idol's Eye Diamond[]
The Nassak Diamond (also known as the 'Nassac Diamond' and the Eye of the Idol) is a large, 43.38 carats (8.68 g) diamond that originated as a larger diamond in the 15th century in India. Found in the Amaragiri mine located in Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India, and originally cut in India, the diamond adorned the statue of Shiva in the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, near Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra, India from at least 1500 to 1817. The British East India Company acquired the diamond through the Third Anglo-Maratha War and sold it to British jewelers Rundell and Bridge in 1818. Rundell and Bridge recut the diamond in 1818, after which it made its way into the handle of the 1st Marquess of Westminster's dress sword.
The Nassak Diamond was imported into the United States in 1927, and was considered one of the first 24 great diamonds of the world by 1930. American jeweler Harry Winston acquired the Nassak Diamond in 1940 in Paris, France and recut it to its present flawless 43.38 carats (8.68 g) emerald cut shape. Winston sold the diamond to a New York jewelry firm in 1942. Mrs. William B. Leeds of New York received the gem in 1944 as a sixth anniversary present and wore it in a ring. The Nassak Diamond was last sold at an auction in New York in 1970 to Edward J. Hand, a 48-year old trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut.
Regent Diamond[]
In 1698, a slave found the 410 carat (82 g) uncut diamond in a Golkonda mine, more specifically Paritala-Kollur Mine in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India and concealed it inside of a large wound in his leg. An English sea captain stole the diamond from the slave after killing him and sold it to an Indian merchant. Thomas Pitt acquired it from a merchant in Madras in 1701. In 1792 during the revolutionary furor in Paris, "Le Régent," as the diamond came to be known, was stolen along with other crown jewels of France, but was later recovered, after being hidden in some roof timbers. The diamond was mounted successively on the crowns of Louis XVIII, Charles X and Napoleon III.
Today, mounted in a Greek diadem designed for Empress Eugenie, it remains in the French Royal Treasury at the Louvre. It has been on display there since 1887. It has been appraised at £46,922,530 ($67,885,567 USD) as of 2010