Through the millenarian history of mankind, diamonds have fascinated people with their amazing transparency and brilliance, but also because they served for the most varied purposes.
In India, diamonds were considered talismans, in ancient Rome they were used to avoid being poisoned, while the civilizations in the mid-East associated them with virility and courage.
For their exceptional properties and hardness, diamonds were associated to males, until they became a symbol of love and marriage, attributing their transparency and purity to females.
Apart from those generic qualities, many diamonds became famous for their rarity, large size, legends surrounding them, or just because they belonged to famous people.
Although, many of the famous diamonds are part of exhibits or can be admired publicly from time to time, others are lost or hidden away from the prying eyes.
Among the most known and famous, the Taylor-Burton is a 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond, sold at and auction in 1969. Bought by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor, the diamond debuted in public during a charity ball in Monaco that year and ten years later Miss Taylor sold the diamond to pay a hospital in Botswana. It is believed that the diamond is today in Saudi Arabia.
The Hope Diamond has a history that can be traced back to the early 1600’s. This is a 45.52-carat diamond, which is supposedly cursed. Property of commoners and Kings, it was stolen from Louis XIV during the French revolution. In 1830, it was sent to London where Henry Phillip Hope bought it. Today, this diamond is found at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
The Cullinan is the largest diamond ever found in history. With 3,106 carats, which originally weighed one and a half pounds until it was cut into 9 major gems and 96 smaller gemstones. Two of the biggest and more famous cuts of this diamond, the 530-carat “Star of Africa”, and the 317-carat “Lesser Star of Africa” belong to the British Crown Jewels.
Following in size, the Excelsior was originally a 995.2-carat diamond, later cut into ten gemstones, the largest is a 69.68-carat bought by Robert Mouawad on 1996 for $2,642,000. There is a mythical diamond disputing that the Excelsior the second place as the largest diamond found ever; the Braganza; however, there is no evidence of its existence.
In modern times, the third largest diamond was found at the Diminco Mine in Sierra Leone on February 14, 1972. The Star of Sierra Leone was a 969.80-carat diamond purchased by Harry Winston to cut into 17 gemstones, six of which are set today in the Star of Sierra Leone Brooch.
The Koh-I-Noor (Mountain of Light) is another of the diamonds belonging to the British Crown. First described in texts from 1304, this was a 186-carat oval diamond, which is believed to have belonged to the famous peacock throne of Shah Jehan. However, it was recut during the reign of Queen Victoria as the 108.93-carat diamond of today.
Other famous diamonds include the 300 carats Orloff diamond, the Regent found in 1701 and once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Oppenhiemer, and the Great Chrysanthemum, a 198.28-carat pear diamond with a fancy brown color.
