The Russian Crown Jewels

The Great Imperial Crown was made by a skilled court jeweller Jeremia Posier for the Empress Catherine II the Great's Coronation in 1762. It has a traditional shape and is made up of the two open hemispheres divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop. The crown is set with 5,000 selected Indian diamonds (some Russian sources state this number as 4,836) and and number fine, large white pearls. The crown is also decorated with one of the seven historic stones of the Russia's Diamond Collection - a large precious red spinel weighing 398.72 carats which was brought to Russia by Nicholas Spafary, the Russian envoy to China from 1675 to 1678. 

The Centenary Diamond

The diamond Jubilee of De Beers Consolidated Mines passed off quietly in 1948, the massive post-WWII growth and expansion of the diamond industry had barely begun, while several important sources of diamonds, including the Premier Mine, were still closed, while others remained to be discovered. Forty years later the annual output of diamonds exceeded 100 million carats and sales of rough diamonds reached around $5 billion.

The Blue Magic Diamond

Here is what Christie's said about the stone when it was up for auction as part of their Simply Blue sale in 2001:

"A MAGNIFICENT FANCY VIVID BLUE DIAMOND RING"
Set with a modified pear-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 12.02 carats to the tapered baguette-cut shoulders and 18k white gold hoop. With certificate 11568233 dated 19 June 2001 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy vivid blue, natural color, VVS2 clarity.

The Blue Heart Diamond

Some reports refer to this unusual diamond as the "Eugénie Blue" although it is now recognized that there is no evidence of its having been owned by the Empress. Had she owned it, wouldn't she have chosen to flee with it rather than the diamond which is named after her? However, a French link does exist because the cutting firm of Atanik Ekyanan of Neuilly, Paris cut this heart shape, which weighs 30.82 metric carats and is of a rare deep blue color, sometime between 1909 and 1910. This date raises the question whether the rough stone came from Africa or India. 

The Beluga Diamond

The Beluga Diamond was cut by the William Goldberg firm from a rather flat, blocky 265.82-carat rough and weighs 103-point-some carats. I am still researching it. It is the largest standard oval brilliant cut diamond in the world and appeared in an article about 'blood diamonds' in the March 2002 issue of National Geographic magazine. 

The Arcots Diamond

The Hanoverian rulers of Great Britain amassed a large collection of personal jewelry and Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III, was surely no excpetion. She received many jewels, the most notable being the diamonds she was given by the Nawab of Arcot. These included five brilliants, the larest of which was a 38.6-carat oval-shaped stone and was later set in a necklace with the two smallest stones.

The American Star Diamond

 

The American Star Diamond began life as an unnamed 14.89-carat D-color, Flawless-clarity modern round brilliant. It was bought in late 1999 by the EightStar company of California, with the intent of a recutting. The plan was to prove, on a large scale, that the EightStar approach brings otherwise unattainable sculptural and optical perfection to the round brilliant, even ones the rest of the world already thinks are as good as it gets.

Allnatt Diamond

When Porter Rhodes travelled to the Isle of Wight in 1881 to show to his fine white diamond crystal to Queen Victoria and Empress Eugénie of France, who was at that time residing nearby, he helped to dispell a myth: South African diamonds were usually yellowish in color and therefore less valuable. Both the Queen but in particular the Empress, who was knowledgable about diamonds, believed this to be true and were, therefore, surprised to examine a fine white octahedral crystal originating from the Cape Mines of South Africa. It was not until the Excelsior was found in 1893, the Jubilee in 1895 and above all, the discovery of the Premier Mine in 1902 that South Africa finally achieved recognition as a source of large white diamonds as well as yellow ones.

Ahmadabad Diamond

Ahmadabad, the capitol of the Indian state of Gujarat, is located 550 km north of Bombay, on the Sabarmati River. The city has long been a center for trading and cutting diamonds, both of which are still pursued there today (although to a lesser degree). One famous visitor to Ahmadabad in the 1600s was the French traveller and gem merchant, Jean Baptiste Tavernier. Over a period of 40 years, he made six trips to the East. In chapter XXII of part II of his book Travels in India, Tavernier described some of the notable diamonds and rubies which he had seen during the course of his travels, often accompanied with illustrations, from which the following is from:

Agra Diamond

The city of Agra was founded by the Mogul Emperors who made it their capitol for more than a hundred years in the 1500's and 1600's until Aurangzeb, the 6th mogul emperor transferred the seat of the monarchy to Delhi in 1658. It was in Agra that Akbar received a letter from Queen Elizabeth I of England and Jahangir issued a charter to the British East India Company in 1612, granting it freedom to trade in India.

The story of the Agra Diamond begins in 1526 when Babur the first Mogul emperor (1483-1530) took possession of Agra after defeating the Rajah of Gwailor in battle. Babur was the son of Omar Sheik, King of Ferghana (now Turkestan), his real name was Zahir al-Din Muhammed, but he was given the name Babur, meaning 'the tiger.' He was both a brilliant soldier and scholar, determined to become absolute ruler in India. After his success on the battlefield, Babur sent his son and successor, Humayun, to occupy Agra, a feat he duly accomplished in the process capturing members of the family of the slain Raja. Their lives were spared. It is said that as an expression of their gratitude they presented their captors with jewels and precious stones. Since it is recorded that Babur wore the Agra Diamond in his turban, the stone was probably one of those jewels.

Lesotho Promise Diamond

The Lesotho Promise is the tenth largest diamond in the world. It was discovered by a woman sorting rocks in a mine. In 2006, the diamond was auctioned for over $12 million. After cutting, the price of the 120-gram diamond doubled. The South African Diamond Corporation now owns the jewel.

Two large yellow diamonds

Two large yellow diamonds - a cushion-shaped diamond weighing 102.54 carats and a pear-shaped diamond weighing 82.48 carats - from the collection of Marquise de Païva, or simply la Païva, the famous 19th century courtesan. She was called “the diamond eater” behind her back.

Hope Diamond

The 45.52-carat Hope Diamond is reputed to be the most unlucky modern gem. The Hope Diamond used to belong to the Indian royal family. Some think that it adorned the forehead of an Indian god. The gem passed from one owner to the next, eventually finding its way to the French royal court. However, it did not remain with the royal court for long: it was stolen during the French Revolution.

Wittelsbach Diamond

The Wittelsbach is a blue 35.56-carat diamond that was passed to Charles of Bavaria, a member of the Wittelsbach family, when he married Maria Amalia of Austria in 1722. In the 19th century, it was set in the Bavarian crown and remained in the Wittelsbachs’ posession until World War I, when it was lost. It is believed that King Philip IV of Spain purchased the stone and added it to the dowry of his daughter, Infanta Margaret Teresa.

Annenberg Emerald Cut Diamond

The Annenberg is one of the world’s most famous diamonds. This flawless, D color, 32.01 carat square emerald-cut diamond sits on a ring flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds. This ring was designed by famous jeweler David Webb.

Koh-i-Noor

Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light), one of the most famous diamonds in history, currently adorns Queen Elizabeth’s crown. It is the largest Crown Jewels diamond.

The Cullinan Diamond

The Cullinan Diamond (the Star of Africa) is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found. It weighs 3,026 carats (other sources put its weight at 3,106 carats) and its dimensions are 100x65x50mm. It was discovered accidentially in 1905 in South Africa. The Transvaal government presented the diamond to Great Britain’s King Edward VII on his birthday. The diamond had an internal strain, rendering it impossible to cut without dividing it into parts.

Black Orlov diamond

The origin of the Black Orlov diamond, as well as its unusual grey-steel color, is still unknown. As legend has it, this diamond, also called the Eye of Brahma, was set in a statue in a shrine near Pondicherry in southern India, and weighed 195 carats uncut. According to the legend, it caused the suicides of two Russian princesses.

Shah Diamond

Another exhibit from the Moscow Kremlin’s Diamond Fund is the Shah Diamond, an 88.7 carat, yellow-tinged, and extremely clear gem of Indian origin that bears inscriptions on three facets. A deep cut in the diamond indicates that it was worn as a talisman. It is believed that the diamond was discovered in the Golconda mines in India in the 16th century, before they were abandoned.

Famous Diamonds

The Orlov is the largest and most famous diamond from the Moscow Kremlin’s Diamond Fund. It sits atop Catherine the Great’s Imperial Sceptre. It was found in India at the end of the 17th – early 18th century. The weight of this white diamond with a faint bluish-green tinge was originally assessed at 400 carats, but after cutting, it was reduced to 189.62 carats. The Orlov diamond is one of the few historic diamonds that retains its original Indian rose-style cut.