The story may not concluded without mentioning the most famous diamonds and the events which took place around them. Among the most famous we must mention the following:

Famous Diamonds

HOPE:

In spite of not being one of the largest, it only weighs 45.52 carats, the beautiful glitter of this gem and its precious and strange blue sapphire color make it one of the most desired ones. Its genealogy is filled with violent deaths and tragedies. One of its last owners, Harry Winston, a precious stones dealer, from New York City, bought it after 1947, and later donated it to the "Smithsonian Institute" in Washington D.C .

REGENT:

Chronicles of this sumptuous gem are surrounded, just like other famous diamonds, by an atmosphere of greed, murders and social-economic problems. The legend has it that it was found by a Hindu slave (1701), who steals it, hiding it under the bandages around a wounded leg, and escapes to the coast. There, he tells his secret to the commander of a British vessel, to whom he offers half of the profit from the sale of the diamond if he takes him to a country where he can be free.

During the voyage to Bombay, greed tempts the captain, who murders the slave, getting hold of the gem; afterwards remorse turns him into a miserable suicide. The first buyer of the gem was Thomas Pitt, who made it cut, producing a 104.5 carat stone, originally it weighed 450 carats. Then, it was acquired by the Duke de Orleans, king of France, and it goes to decorate the crown of Louis XIV.

Later Queen Maria Lesczinsky, wife of Louis XV displays it and afterwards the dejected Marie Antoinette. It disappears with the theft of the royal treasures in 1792, during the French revolution. It is recovered fifteen months later, and is carried by Napoleon during his crowning ceremony (1804) in the hilt of his sword. Now it is displayed in the “Louvre" Museum.

KOH-I-NOOR:

Its history begins in the year 1304 when it was owned by a rajah of a vast territory in India. Two centuries later it comes in the hands of Sultan Baber, first of the Mogul emperors in India. Afterwards and successively, it is inherited by its descendants until Shah Jehan, who erected the Taj Mahal Mausoleum (XVII Century) in memory of his wife. Back then it was believed that the gem’s owner “would rule the world”. But in 1739, Persia’s Shah, Nadir, is its new owner, as the throne is seized.

The legend says that the defeated emperor hides the diamond in his head band and when the shrewd Nadir, found out, he makes use of the oriental tradition of exchanging head bands; so he invites his victim and the latter in face of the impossibility to decline, starts unwinding the turban, displaying the extraordinary gem, which falls to the floor. When Nadir saw it, he screamed in excitement: "KOH-I-NOOR", which stands for "Mountain of Light ".

Years later, it returns to India, where the British get hold of it, through the "East Indian Oriental" Company which offers it to Queen Victoria in 1850. It weigh 186 carats, was re-cut into an oval diamond, its weight being 108 carats. The Koh-I-Noor is one of the chief treasures of the jewels of the British Crown.

The Cullinan, The Largest Diamond in History

Among famous diamonds, not for their history but for their size we have to point out the largest rough diamond ever to be found though of recent history. It was found on South Africa in the Premier mine with a weight of 3,106 ct. of good clarity , and color and with irregular shape (cleavage piece).

The main custs of The Cullinan is said to have been found in a routine inspection by superintendent

Mr. Frederick Wells, who, at the beginning was not impressed, probably thinking that it could be an enormous crystal, The stone was named Cullinan in honor of the person who started labors in the Premier mine.

No individual could afford the luxury to purchase it, so Premier mine accepted to sell it to the government of Transvaal in 1907 for 150,000 pounds, who then offered it to Eduard VII for his sixtieth birthday. Asher, the well-known Dutch firm was in charge of cutting it.

The Queen of England using Cullinans I and II as a brooch on her chest, the III as a pendant on the Coronation Necklace, and the IV at the base of her crown, under the Koh-i-Noor diamonde goal was to eliminate inclusions and achieve the largest possible stone. The diamond was studied during several months; finally in February 1908 it was exfoliated by Joseph Aasher the most prestigious cutter of the firm. He first marked where the diamond was to be cleavage, placed his steal knife in the previously made notch and gave it a firm blow.

On the first attempt the sheet broke in half and the diamond was left intact, on the second attempt and after the pressure, the diamond was broken in two. In the end, 9 large stones and ninety six small ones were obtained.

The Cullinan I, weighs 520. 20 ct, it is known as the Great Star of Africa, it was until recently the largest cut diamond in the world; now it is the Golden Jubile of 545.67 ct, fancy brown color diamond which belongs to the King of Thailand since 1966, it is displayed in the Tower of London in the Royal Center. The Cullinan II weighs 317, 40 ct and is cushion engraved, is set the Imperial Crown next to the "ruby" of the Black Prince and can also be seen in the same place.

Famous diamonds are also linked to famous people. Elizabeth Taylor wore the “Taylor Burton” Diamond, a pear brilliant cut diamond of 69.42 ct. value.

The Queen of England using Cullinans I and II as a brooch on her chest, the III as a pendant on the Coronation Necklace, and the IV at the base of her crown, under the Koh-i-Noor diamond. (Photos source: Wikipedia)

THE LIBERATOR DIAMOND:

To close, the fascinating world of diamonds, we must mention THE LIBERATOR DIAMOND. Called like this in honor of Simon Bolívar, liberator of Venezuela, from Spanish government’. This beautiful and extraordinary gem was discovered in 1942 in ‘la Gran Sabana Venezuela; it weighed 155 carats. It was purchased by Harry Winston in 1943. It was cut in four diamonds: three of them were emerald cuts with the following weights: 39.80 – 18.12 – 8.93 carats ,the other was a marquise cut...