Diamonds at a premium | Sunday Observer

Diamonds at a premium

5 March, 2023

Jewellery has played a significant role in the cultures for thousands of years, from ancient civilisations to the modern world. Since time immemorial, some of the most prestigious and luxurious diamonds have been passed from person to person, or sold for a large sum of money. Some of such diamond-made jewellery have even been used by kings, queens, and emperors, and many other dignitaries. This article is about five out of the 10 diamond jewellery which have been recorded to be the most expensive.

The Hope

The most famous diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond is a fancy dark grey-blue diamond weighing 45.42 carats. These ancient cut diamonds are worth about US $ 200-250 million. Since the discovery of this diamond in Golconda, India in 1666, its ownership is believed to have changed on several occasions.

It was named French Blue after it was legally acquired by King Louis in 1668. This diamond, which was in the possession of the French royal family until 1792, was lost during the theft of the royal jewels during the French Revolution, which started in 1789.

 Kohinoor

 The Koh-i-Noor, also spelled Kohinoor, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing 105.6 carats. It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the British Crown.

There is no record of its original weight, but the earliest attested weight is 186 carats. The first verifiable record of the diamond comes from a history by Muhammad Kazim Marvi of the 1740s invasion of Northern India by Nader Shah.

Marvi notes that the diamond as being one of many stones on the Mughal Peacock Throne that Nader Shah looted from Delhi.

The diamond then changed hands between various empires in South and West Asia, until being given to Queen Victoria after the British East India Company’s annexation of Punjab in 1849.

 Peacock Brooch

The Peacock brooch was unveiled at a fair, where the wealthiest collectors of fine art and antiques gathered to peruse some of the most precious objects in the world. 1,305 diamonds adorn this precious bird, including some highly valuable coloured diamonds totalling 120.81 carats. The star of the piece is a 20.02 carats pear-shaped Fancy Deep Blue diamond. Fanning out from this stellar blue diamond is an array of white, pink, yellow, orange and even green diamonds that dazzle the eye. The blue diamond centre of this piece can be detached and worn eparately.

Wittelsbach-Graff

Unearthed in an Indian mine in the 1600s, the 35.56-carat deep gray blue Wittelsbach Diamond belonged to King Philip IV of Spain and was given as a dowry when his daughter Marguerite Teresa was betrothed to Emperor Leopold I of Austria. Austro- Berberian jewellery has been part of royal jewellery for centuries. Purchased by jeweller Lawrence Graff in 2008 for $ 22 million, the diamond has been re-cut and polished into a deep blue diamond weighing 31.06 carats. After the repairs, this diamond, which had a clear and brilliant appearance, further increased in value. In 2011, this precious diamond was sold by its owner to Qatari royalty for $ 80 million.

Pink Star

The Pink Star was auctioned at Sotheby’s in early April 2017 for $ 71.2 million, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold at an auction. Within five minutes, the diamond was bid by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and it was bought. With a beautiful pink colour and 59.6 carats, this diamond is considered to be the largest pink diamond graded by the Gemological Institute of America. Discovered in an African mine in 1999, it weighed 132.5 carats before being polished to its current state.

Golden Jubilee Diamond

At 545.67 carats and with a weight of 109.13 g, the Golden Jubilee Diamond is said to be one of the largest cut and faceted diamonds in the world. An unusual brown diamond, it has a golden hue. Having been discovered in the Premier Mine in South Africa in 1985, it was originally nicknamed “Unknown Brown”. As there were cracks in the interior, diamond cutter Gabriel Tolkowsky was hired to cut it. This huge diamond was bought by a team led by Thai businessman Henry Ho. As a celebration of King Bhumibol’s 50th coronation anniversary, they presented the diamond to his daughter, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to be given to the king.

Archduke Joseph Diamond

A colourless, elongated cushion-shaped diamond, the Archduke Joseph is one of the most expensive colourless diamonds to be sold at an auction. Taking its name from Archduke Joseph August of Austria whose family owned it for a number of years, this impressive gemstone was then bought by Molina Fine Jewellers of Phoenix. They had the diamond re-cut from its original 78.54 carats to 76.45 carats.

Singer Celine Dion wore the diamond for a television special in 2002. The Archduke Joseph Diamond was sold to an unknown bidder for $ 21.5 million in November 2012 by Christie’s in Geneva.

 

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