Famous Diamonds

Top 10 Largest Diamonds in the World

10. The Millennium Star Diamond ( 203.04 carat)

This beautiful stone is known to be the world’s second largest Grade D Colorless diamond. Weighing in at 203.04 carat, the Millennium Star is an internally and externally flawless, pear-shaped diamond that was cut out of a 777 carat original stone, found in the Mbuji-Mayi district of Zaire, Congo back in 1990. It was purchased by De Beers in the mid mid-nineties, cut into a diamond of unrivalled purity and displayed for the first time in October 1999 as the main attraction of the De Beers Millennium diamond collection. 

9. The Red Cross Diamond ( 205.07 carat )

 The original 375 carat rough stone is said to have come from one of the Kimberly mines of South Africa, back in 1901. It was later cut in Amsterdam, into a flawless 205.07 carat canary-yellow diamond, that has been described to be self-luminous in the dark after the stone is exposed to brilliant light. The original group of companies who bought the output of the De Beers, presented the diamond as a gift to the art sale held in London by Christies in 1918, on behalf of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John. Notably, the 205.07 carat diamond has a distinctly visible Maltese Cross in the top facet hence the double-provenance of its name. 

8. The De Beers Diamond ( 234.65 carat )

 The original 375 carat rough stone is said to have come from one of the Kimberly mines of South Africa, back in 1901. It was later cut in Amsterdam, into a flawless 205.07 carat canary-yellow diamond, that has been described to be self-luminous in the dark after the stone is exposed to brilliant light. The original group of companies who bought the output of the De Beers, presented the diamond as a gift to the art sale held in London by Christies in 1918, on behalf of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John. Notably, the 205.07 carat diamond has a distinctly visible Maltese Cross in the top facet hence the double-provenance of its name. 

7. The Jubilee Diamond ( 245.35 carat )

 Originally known as the Reitz Diamond, the colourless, cushion-shaped stone was found in 1895 in the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa. Weighing in at 650.80 carats, the original stone was transformed from an irregular octahedron without definite faces or shapes, into a 245.35 carat, superb diamond of exceptional purity and size. It was originally named after Francis William Reitz, the then president of the Orange Free State of Africa, before being renamed to honour the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1897. The E-grade gem was cut and polished in Amsterdam by M.B. Barends and its value is unknown. 

6. The Centenary Diamond ( 273.85 carats )

The original 599 carat stone was discovered in 1986 and it is the third-largest diamond to have been excavated from the Premier Mine of South Africa. The internally and externally flawless 273.85 carat diamond emerged from cutting and polishing in 1991 thanks to a team lead by Gabi Tolkowsky. The grade D color diamond measures 39.90 × 50.50 × 24.55 mm and it has 247 facets – 164 on the stone and 83 around its girdle. It bears the Centenary Diamond name as it was presented before the Centennial Celebration of De Beers Consolidated Mines on May 11, 1988. It is believed that De Beers no longer owns the Centenary and the current owner, location and value of this precious stone remain unknown.

5. The Spirit of de Grisogono Diamond ( 312.24 carats )

 The Spirit of de Grisogono is, without a doubt, the world’s largest cut black diamond. The beautiful stone was excavated several decades ago in west Central Africa and before cutting, it weighed 587 carats. It was later brought to Switzerland, where it was cut by Fawaz Gruosi using the traditional Mogul diamond cutting technique. The 312.24 carat black diamond is set in a white gold mouting, encrusted with 702 smaller white diamonds totalling 36.69 carats. The rare stone is reported to have since been sold by Fawaz Gruosi to a private client.

4. The Cullinan II Diamond - Lesser Star of Africa ( 317.4 carats )

The Cullinan diamond was found on January 26, 1905 in the Premier Mines of South Africa and it was named after the owner of the mine, Sir Thomas Cullinan. Weighing in at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g), it is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found. It was split into nine pieces, out of which, two of the largest gems in the world were designed. The Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, weights in at 317.4 carats and it is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Set in the front of the circlet of the Imperial State Crown, the massive flawless D-color gem has an estimated value of around $200 million.

3. The Incomparable Diamond ( 407.48 carats )

This beautiful 407.48 carat brownish-yellow diamond comes with an interesting story behind it. The precious stone was found back in 1984 in the town of Mbuji Mayi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by a young young girl that was playing in a pile of rubble, outside of her uncle’s house. With a weight of 890 carats before cutting, the stone was found in a legitimately collected pile of rubble from old mine dumps of the nearby MIBA Diamond Mine. At the time, the stone was the largest brown diamond in the world and after it was finally purchased by the Zale Corporation, it was reduced to 407.5 carats (81.5 g) for the sake of having fewer internal flaws. The gem was designed by a team led by Marvin Samuels and it was finally unveiled in November, 1984 in New York.

2. The Cullinan I – Star of Africa Diamond ( 530.20 carats )

The Cullinan I is the largest piece out of nine that were split from the original 3,106.75 carat rough diamond found on January 26, 1905 in the Premier Mines of South Africa. Shaped in the form of a pear, the flawless D-color diamond weights 530.20 carats, measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm and it has 76 facets. The story goes that when the diamond was split, Joseph Asscher, the greatest cleaver of the day, had a doctor and nurse standing by. When he finally struck the diamond and it broke perfectly in two, he fainted dead away.

Set in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross, the Star of Africa, as it is also known, has an estimated value of around $400 million.

1. The Golden Jubilee Diamond ( 545.67 carats )

The original 755.5 carat (151 g) rough stone was discovered back in 1985 in the prolific blue ground of the Premier mine in South Africa. The diamond was cut to 545.67 carats by Gabriel Tolkowsky in a specially designed underground room that was free from vibrations. The Golden Jubilee is currently the largest faceted diamond in the world and it is owned by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Tahiland. It’s value has been estimated to be around $12 million.

Corundum var. Sapphire (423 carats, Sri Lanka) Donated by Mrs. John A. Logan in 1960. The magnificent 423-carat Logan Sapphire was cut from a crystal mined in Sri Lanka and is one of the world's largest faceted blue sapphires (it is about the size of an egg). Smithsonian Collection

Jacqueline Kennedy's engagement ring 71.73-carat

The Cora Sun-Drop is among the most stunning diamonds in the world, so rare that it is almost impossible to determine its value. Which is why no-one has even tried. At 110-carats, the Cora Sun-Drop is roughly the size of a woman's thumb and is the largest vivid yellow pear-shaped diamond known in the world. Its unusual yellow colour stems from the very small percentage of nitrogen within the carbon structure of the stone. Diamonds with a strong saturated colour represent only a tiny percent..

Marie Antoinette's Diamond Earrings