The top 10 most famous diamonds, in order of largest to
smallest, are as follows:
1. The Great Star of Africa
530.20 Carats
Pear shaped, with 74 facets
Discovered in Premier Mine, Transvaal, South Africa, in l095
Cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam
Yielded 9 large and 96 smaller brilliant cut stones
Located in London, set in the Royal Scepter, kept with the
other Crown Jewels
2. The Orloff
300 Carats
Color: Light blue-green
Clarity: Exceptionally pure
Cut: Mogul-cut rose
Discovered in India
Located in the Diamond Treasury of Russia, Moscow
3. The Centenary Diamond
273.85 Carats
Discovered in Premier Mine, Transvaal, South Africa, in 1986
Weighed 599.10 carats in the rough
Gabi Tolkowsky, master cutter, took nearly three years to
transform the rough stone into what is now the world’s largest flawless diamond.
Has 247 facets, with164 on the stone and 83 at the girdle
4. The Regent
140.50 Carats
Considered to be the world’s most beautiful diamond due to
exceptional limpidity and perfect cut
Discovered in India in 1698
Obtained by Thomas Pitt, the Governor of Madras, who sent it
to England to be cut
Purchased from Pitt in 1717 for the French Crown
Located today at the Louvre in Paris
5. Koh-i-Noor
105.60 Carats
Cut: Oval
Koh-i-Noor means “Mountain of Light”
The longest of all famous diamonds
Stolen from Rajahs of Malwa in the 16th century by Sultan
Babur of Persia
Originally weighed l986 carats but was eventually cut down
to l08.93 carats
Located today in the Tower of London, with the other Crown
Jewels
6. The Idol’s Eye
70.20 Carats
Flattened, rounded, pear shaped—similar to that of an eye
Discovered in Golconda in the early 1600s
Legends, stories, and myths abound regarding the history of
the Idol’s Eye diamond.
The first factual recorded event was the auctioning off of
the diamond by Christie’s in London, in 1865, to Abdul Hamid II, the 34th
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
The diamond was last seen in the early 1980s when it was
sold to an unidentified buyer.
Today, the gem’s whereabouts remain unknown, causing the
Idol’s Eye diamond to remain shrouded in mystery.
7. The Taylor-Burton
69.42 Carats
Color: F-G
Clarity: IF
Cut: Pear shaped
Discovered in Premier Mine, Transvaal, South Africa, in 1966
The rough diamond weighed 240.80 carats and was cut into a
69.42 pear shaped gem.
Purchased by Richard Burton for $1.1 million as a gift for
Elizabeth Taylor
Taylor sold the diamond for charity in 1979 for $2.8
million.
The Taylor-Burton diamond was last seen in Saudi Arabia.
8. The Sancy
55 Carats
Cut: Pear shaped
Originally owned by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who
lost the diamond in battle in 1477
Named after its last known owner, Seigneur de Sancy, a
French Ambassador to Turkey in the late 16th century
The diamond disappeared during the French revolution and its
current location is unknown.
9. The Blue Hope
45.52 Carats
Purchased by Henry Thomas Hope
Believed to be part of the Blue Tavernier Diamond, brought
to Europe from India in l642
The Blue Hope diamond is believed to be cursed, as every
owner has befallen tragedy once in possession of the stone.
Because no one would purchase the Blue Hope, it is now
displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
10. Hortensia
20 Carats
Color: Peach
Named after the Queen of Holland, step-daughter of Napoleon
Bonaparte
Located at the Louvre in Paris, as part of the French Crown
Jewels