subject: 5 Most Expensive Diamonds in the World [print this page] 5 Most Expensive Diamonds in the World 5 Most Expensive Diamonds in the World
Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and have become a rare and precious addition to any item of jewellery. Any jewellery that contains this rare and expensive gem will immediately shoot up in value, and will have women from all walks of life hoping that one day they will be treated to such lovelinks jewellery. But how much do we actually know about diamonds and why are they so expensive? This article lists the most expensive diamonds in the world and why they are so expensive, so that you will know if you have a real gem on your hands.
1. De Beers Centenary Diamond (Worth $100 million) This diamond stands at a whopping 273 carat (55 grams) in weight and is the third largest diamond to ever be produced from a premier mine. The Gemological Institute of America rated the colour of the diamond as grade D, which is the highest grade possible. The precious rock was found originally in 1986, with only a few people knowing about the discovery of it, who were sworn to secrecy. The rough shape of the diamond means it is difficult to cut and in the end the diamond was made in to one large modern cut stone.
2. The Hope Diamond (Worth $350 million) The hope diamond weighs in at a much smaller 45 carat (9.1 grams) and can be located in Washington in the United States of America in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is classified as a Type IIb diamond and is very famous for the fact that it is dubbed as cursed. The Hope Diamond glows a DC-blue to the naked eye due to a tiny amount of boron in the crystal, but exhibits a red phosphor under ultraviolet lighting.
3. The Cullinan Diamond (Worth $400 million) The Cullinan diamond can boast the fact that it is the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found, and weighs 3,106 carats (621 grams). The precious stone was discovered at a premier diamond mine all the way back in 1905 by Mr. Frederick Wells. The stone was so precious that it actually took 3 months to decide on the best way to cut it, and the first attempt tat it was unsuccessful. The giant Cullinan was finally cut into three large parts and then cut again into9 large stones and other smaller fragments.
4. The Sancy Diamond (un-estimated) The Sancy Diamond is a pale yellow diamond of 55.3 carat (11.1g). As one of the world's most coveted gems, it has a grand old age of 600 years and a journey that began in the legendary mines of Golconda, India, to its current destination in France as one of the French crown jewels. Over its lifetime the diamond has decorated the crowns of several French royals and was worn as a lucky hatpin by King James I of England.
5. Kohinooe Diamond (un-estimated) Finally we come the most expensive and most prestigious diamond the ever grace the earth. The Kohinooe Diamond was discovered in the same mine as the Sancy Diamond in Golconda, India. At 105 carats (21.6 g) it was once the largest known diamond in the world. The diamond was nicknamed the "mountain of light" by the King of Persia, Nadir Shah, after he invaded India in 1739.
