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Famous Diamonds
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The Oppenheimer This almost perfect yellow crystal was found in the Dutoitspan Mine, Kimberley, South Africa in 1964. It was acquired by Harry Winston, who presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in memory of the late Sir Ernest Oppenheimer of DeBeers Consolidated Mines. |
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The Blue Hope More notorious than any other diamond. The Hope was once owned by Louis XIV and was officially designated the 'blue diamond of the crown.' Stolen during the French Revolution, it turned up in London in 1830 and was bought by Henry Philip Hope after whom it is currently named. At that time it acquired its gruesome reputation for bad luck: all the Hope family died in poverty. A similar misfortune befell a later owner, Edward McLean. You can see the Blue Hope today at the Smithsonian in Washington. |
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The Koh-I-Noor Diamond First reported in 1304 as a diamond in the possession of the Rajah of Malwa, later, it fell into the hands of the Sultan Baber. For the next two centuries, it was one of the precious jewels of the Mogul Emperors. In 1739, Nadir Shah of Persia invaded Delhi. His systematic pillage of the city failed to uncover the huge stone, but then he was told by one of the harem women that the conquered Mogul emperor had hidden it inside his turban. |
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The Star of Sierra Leone Shown in the rough above, this diamond is the third largest ever found, and weighed almost half a pound in the rough. The rough was eventually cut into seventeen exquisite invididual diamonds, six of which are now set in the Star of Sierra Leone Brooch. |
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The Idol's Eye Diamond A flattened pear shaped stone the size of a bantam's egg. another famous diamond that was once set in the eye of an idol before it was stolen. Legend also had it that it was given as a ransom for Princess Rasheetah by the Sheik of Kashmir to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her. |
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The Hortensia Diamond This peach colored stone was named after Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland, who was Josephine's daughter and the step-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Hortensia had been part of the French Crown Jewels since Louis XIV bought it. You can see the Hortensia on display in the Louvre, Paris. |
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The Kahn Canary Unearthed in Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, Arkansas in 1977, the Kahn Canary is considered to be an unnofficial symbol of the state. Bought and named by Stan Kahn of Love Story® jeweler Kahn Jewlers of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the Kahn Canary has been lent to Hillary Rodham Clinton to wear at all of her husband's inaugurals, both as Governor of Arkansas, and as President of the United States. |
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Kimberley Diamond Originally a 490-carat rough, this champagne colored stone named after the Kimberley Mine in South Africa, was cut to 70 carats in 1921, and to its current emerald shape in 1958. The Kimberley was widely exhibited until it was sold to an undisclosed collector from Texas in 1971. |
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The Niarchos This blue-white flawless pear shape was bought by Harry Winston in 1956 as part of an $8.4 million parcel. Winston sold it in 1957 to Stavros Niarchos, the Greek shipping magnate, who gave the diamond its name. |
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The Tiffany Diamond The largest golden diamond known today is cut in a unique cushion shape. It was given 90 :facets, 32 more than the standard brilliant cut, and these extra facets give the great yellow diamond the effect of smoldering fire. You can see this fabulous stone at Tiffany's in New York City. |
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The Eureka Diamond As one of the first major diamonds found in South Africa, this stone had been appropriately named. In 1867, a boy found a pebble near the banks of the Orange River. A month later a neighbor a neighbor offered to buy it; his mother refused payment and gave the stone to him. Later the 21 carat rough was cut into this 10.73 brilliant. |
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The Cullinan Diamond This was the largest lump of gem diamond crystal ever discovered. In the rough it weighed 3,106 carats, or about one and one half pounds. Because the rough had a cleavage face, many experts believe that the huge stone was only a piece of a much larger diamond which was broken up in the weathering process. The Transvaal Government bought the rough for $750,000 and presented it to King Edward VII on his birthday in 1907. In 1908 King Edward sent the stone to Amsterdam for cutting. The yield was nine major gems; the largest two were retained for the Crown Jewels. This pear shape is the largest cut diamond in the world. Also called the GREAT STAR OF AFRICA, it is set in the Imperial Sceptre and is on permanent display in the Tower of London. |
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