Famous Diamonds
History of Diamonds | Cutting | Routes & Centers | Famous Diamonds
Famous diamonds often have complex and even controversial histories because of the secrecy surrounding such stones.
The Star of Africa
At 530.20 carats the Cullinan I or Star Africa diamond is the largest cut diamond in the world. Pear-shaped, with 74 facets, it is set in the Royal Scepter (kept with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London). It was cut from the 3,106-carat Cullinan, the largest diamond crystal ever found. The Cullian was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in l095 on an inspection tour of the Premier Mine.
The Cullian was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam, who examined the enormous crystal for around six months before determining how to divide it. It eventually yielded nine major, and 96 smaller brilliant-cut stones. When the Cullian was first discovered, certain signs suggested that it may have been part of a much larger crystal. But no discovery of the "missing half" has ever been authenticated.
The Excelsior
Probably the second largest stone ever found (if the lost Braganza cannot be found and authenticated). A high-clarity, blue-white stone, it was found in l893 by a South African mine worker who picked it out of a shovelful of gravel. Because of its irregular shape, it was cut into 21 polished stones, of which the largest was a marquise of 69.80 carats. A smaller, 18-carat marquise stone cut from the Excelsior was displayed a the l939 World's Fair by De Beers.
The Great Mogul
The world's third largest gem-quality diamond was named after Shah Jehan who built the Taj Mahal. It was found in the mid-seventeenth century in Hyderabad, India. It's whereabouts are not presently known, and it may no longer exist as a single large stone e. It has been confused with several other famous diamonds, most importantly the Orloff, which has also been described as a faintly blue rose-cut stone.
It is said that the stone was so badly cut that the lapidary, instead of being paid by the Shah, was forced to pay a heavy fine. When Tavernier so the Mogul, he described it as looking like an egg, and weighing 280 old carats.
The Darya-i-Nur
The Darya-i-Nur is a flawless, transparent pink stone, estimated at 175 to 195 carats. It is the largest and most remarkable gem in the Crown Jewels of Iran, and was one of the spoils of Persia's attack on Delhi in l739. It is now set in a gold frame with other diamonds, topped by a crown bearing lions with ruby eyes, holding scimitars. It was worn by the last Shah for his coronation in l967.
The Koh-i-Nu
The name of this diamond means "Mountain of Light" and its history, dating back to1304, is the longest of all famous diamonds. It was captured by the Rajahs of Malwa in the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and remained in the possession of late r Mogul emperors. It may have been set in the famous Peacock Throne made for Shah Jehan.
After the break-up of the Persian empire the diamond found its way to India. It may have traveled to Afghanistan with a bodyguard of Nadir Shah, who fled with the stone when the Shah was murdered, to be later offered to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military help (which was never delivered). After fighting broke out between the Sikhs and the British, The East India Company claimed the diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850.
When the stone came from India, it weighed l98.6 carats; it was later recut to l08.93 carats. It was first worn by the Queen in a brooch. It was later set in the State Crown, worn by Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, and 1937 was worn for by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation. It is kept in the Tower of London, with the other Crown Jewels.
The Hope Diamond
The 45.52 carat steel blue Hope Diamond was found in India back in remote times as a rough crystal weighing 112 carats. It first came to light when Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the noted French traveler of the 17th century, was approached in India by a slave who had a very secretive manner about him.
It turned out that he had in his possession an intriguing steel blue stone which at first look seemed to be a large sapphire, but the well-experienced Tavernier soon realized it was a diamond - the largest deep blue diamond in the world.
Legend has it the diamond came from the eye of an idol in a temple on the coleroon River in India. If that is so, one can only conjecture that the eye must have had a mate, but the fate of "the other eye" has never come to light. It would not be the first famous diamond that started it's notoriety in a religious idol. The Idol's Eye and the Orlov both came from idols, according to legend. Tavernier purchased the stone and smuggled it to Paris, where he later sold it to King Louis XIV. It was cut there into a triangular-pear-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats, and was then known as the French Blue or the Tavernier Blue.