1. Koh-I-Noor : (Unestimated, Priceless)
Koh-I-Noor means as “Mountain of Light” from Persian. It’s a 105 carat (21.6 grams) diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Koh-I-Noor was originated at Golconda in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. It was owned by various Sikh, Mughal and Persian rulers that fought each other from time to time. The stone was found to measure 36.00 × 31.90 × 13.04 mm. The gem remains the property of the British crown and is kept in HM Tower of London and it’s a popular tourist attraction.
2. The Sancy Diamond : (Unestimated, Priceless)
The Sancy diamond is 55.23 carat (11.05 grams) of pale yellow diamond that once was famous as the belonging of the Great Moguls. It’s believed that the diamond is Indian origin. This is the first large diamonds to be cut with symmetrical facets. The stone is also unusual because it has no pavilion – just a pair of crowns, one on the other. This historical diamond is now kept in the French Crown Jewel collection housed at the Louvre.
3. The Cullinan: $400 Million
The Cullinan Diamond is 3,106,75 carats (621.35 grams) and is the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found in the world. After polished it became Cullinan I. At 530.2 carats, (106.0 grams) it was the largest diamond in the world until 1985 when the Golden Jubilee of 545.67 carats, (109.13 grams) was found at the same mine.
4. The Hope Diamond: $350 Million.
The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carat (9.10 gram) large diamond that is now located in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The diamond looks blue in color to the naked eye because the number of traces of boron in the crystal structure but it shines red under ultraviolet light.
5. The Archduke Joseph, $21.4 million
In November 2012, this 76.02-carat diamond set a new record for the most expensive colorless diamond per carat ever sold at auction. Originally discovered in the Golconda mines in India, the cushion-shaped diamond was named for Austria’s Archduke Joseph August, the great-grandson of a Roman emperor and a French king. The anonymous buyer at Christie’s Geneva in 2012 reportedly plans to donate the diamond to a museum.
6. Great Star of Africa
At 530.4 carats, the Great Star of Africa is the largest polished white diamond in the world – and was cut from the 3,106 carat Cullinan, the largest diamond crystal ever found. Discovered in 1905 in the Premier mine, near Pretoria, South Africa, the Cullinan was examined for six months before being cut into nine major and 96 smaller brilliant cut stones. The Great Star of Africa was presented to King Edward VII on his birthday and was set in the head of the royal sceptre, part of the crown jewels – and can still be seen today in the Tower of London.
7. The Orlov
Now residing in the diamond treasury of the Kremlin in Moscow, the Orlov reportedly had its origins in India – where it served as an eye in the statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, before being stolen in the 1700s by a deserter from the French army. He fled to Madras and the diamond passed from merchant to merchant before appearing in Amsterdam, where the Russian Count Grigory Orlov paid 400,000 florins for it and presented it as a gift to the Empress Catherine the Great. Now set in the imperial sceptre it is remarkable for its original Indian rose-style cut, as well as for its faint bluish-green tinge, and weighs around 190 carats.
Koh-I-Noor means as “Mountain of Light” from Persian. It’s a 105 carat (21.6 grams) diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Koh-I-Noor was originated at Golconda in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. It was owned by various Sikh, Mughal and Persian rulers that fought each other from time to time. The stone was found to measure 36.00 × 31.90 × 13.04 mm. The gem remains the property of the British crown and is kept in HM Tower of London and it’s a popular tourist attraction.
2. The Sancy Diamond : (Unestimated, Priceless)
The Sancy diamond is 55.23 carat (11.05 grams) of pale yellow diamond that once was famous as the belonging of the Great Moguls. It’s believed that the diamond is Indian origin. This is the first large diamonds to be cut with symmetrical facets. The stone is also unusual because it has no pavilion – just a pair of crowns, one on the other. This historical diamond is now kept in the French Crown Jewel collection housed at the Louvre.
3. The Cullinan: $400 Million
The Cullinan Diamond is 3,106,75 carats (621.35 grams) and is the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found in the world. After polished it became Cullinan I. At 530.2 carats, (106.0 grams) it was the largest diamond in the world until 1985 when the Golden Jubilee of 545.67 carats, (109.13 grams) was found at the same mine.
4. The Hope Diamond: $350 Million.
The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carat (9.10 gram) large diamond that is now located in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The diamond looks blue in color to the naked eye because the number of traces of boron in the crystal structure but it shines red under ultraviolet light.
5. The Archduke Joseph, $21.4 million
In November 2012, this 76.02-carat diamond set a new record for the most expensive colorless diamond per carat ever sold at auction. Originally discovered in the Golconda mines in India, the cushion-shaped diamond was named for Austria’s Archduke Joseph August, the great-grandson of a Roman emperor and a French king. The anonymous buyer at Christie’s Geneva in 2012 reportedly plans to donate the diamond to a museum.
6. Great Star of Africa
At 530.4 carats, the Great Star of Africa is the largest polished white diamond in the world – and was cut from the 3,106 carat Cullinan, the largest diamond crystal ever found. Discovered in 1905 in the Premier mine, near Pretoria, South Africa, the Cullinan was examined for six months before being cut into nine major and 96 smaller brilliant cut stones. The Great Star of Africa was presented to King Edward VII on his birthday and was set in the head of the royal sceptre, part of the crown jewels – and can still be seen today in the Tower of London.
7. The Orlov
Now residing in the diamond treasury of the Kremlin in Moscow, the Orlov reportedly had its origins in India – where it served as an eye in the statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, before being stolen in the 1700s by a deserter from the French army. He fled to Madras and the diamond passed from merchant to merchant before appearing in Amsterdam, where the Russian Count Grigory Orlov paid 400,000 florins for it and presented it as a gift to the Empress Catherine the Great. Now set in the imperial sceptre it is remarkable for its original Indian rose-style cut, as well as for its faint bluish-green tinge, and weighs around 190 carats.