10 most expensive diamonds in the world

Rare, flawless in clarity and unsurpassed in beauty, diamonds are perhaps one of the most fascinating things in the world, created by the cooperation of man and nature. There is some incredible irresistible magic in these stones. Neither the weak nor the strong could resist their perfection.

Monks and warriors, emperors and revolutionaries, socialites and housewives, ordinary people and the highest aristocracy – all of them were mesmerized and continue to be mesmerized by the pure cold and starry brilliance of diamond facets. The largest of diamonds are so rare and expensive that they are given their own names. And each one has a long, often dark and sometimes bloody trail, both fascinating and frightening. Find out what is the most expensive diamond in the world, what kind of stones are in the TOP 10 of the most expensive, marvel at their beauty and be horrified by the price.

So, here are the most expensive diamonds in the world.

1st place – the colorless Koh-i-noor.

The Koh-i-noor is a colorless diamond weighing 105.6 carats. If one day you are asked the name of the most expensive diamond, boldly answer “Kohinoor”. Now “Kohinoor” (translated from Persian as “Mountain of Light”) adorns the British crown, to which it has belonged for more than 170 years. The stone was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 and originally weighed 190 carats. After cutting, the weight of the diamond was almost halved, and in 1853 it became the main decoration of the crown.

Its history goes back more than seven centuries, and then it is lost in the depths of not even centuries, but millennia. It is said that originally the most expensive diamond was one of three fragments of a diamond weighing more than 700 carats. Until 1305, the stone shone on the turbans of the rulers of Malwa (Northern India), later passed into the hands of the Mughal dynasty, who owned it until 1739. Later “Kohinoor” “moved” to Persia with the new owner, the invader Nadir Shah, and then, already with the next owner Ahmad Shah Abdali, went to Afghanistan.

The reputation of the stone is terrifying. According to legend, only a woman and those who are pure in heart can possess it with impunity. And indeed – almost everyone who in one way or another became owners of the “Mountain of Light”, died, and often violently. Only when the stone went to Queen Victoria, the chain of victims interrupted.

So, most importantly, how much is the most expensive diamond in the world? The stone is considered priceless, but according to experts the cost of the most expensive diamond is more than 1 billion dollars.

2nd place – pale yellow Sancy.

The golden “Sancy” is drop-shaped, weighs 55.23 carats and is considered one of the most famous and expensive stones in Europe. The stone was found by merchant Jagattunga in India at the beginning of the last millennium, according to legend, at the bottom of a mountain gorge. It is said that after polishing, the diamond lost half of its mass – originally it weighed 101.25 carats. Since then, the diamond has been owned by merchants, traders, sultans, warriors, thieves, kings and emperors. And it is rumored to have brought misfortune to many.

Among its owners (and often victims) were Charles the Bold, who wore the stone on his helmet, Mary of Burgundy, Henry III and Henry IV, James I, Charles I, Cardinal Mazarini, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who inserted the Sancy into the clasp of her fan. The most recent private owners of the diamond are the Astor family of industrialists, ranking alongside the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. The Astor family had the stone for 72 years, after which it was sold to the Louvre for 1 million dollars. At the moment, none of the experts can determine the value of the stone.

3rd place – colorless diamond “Great Star of Africa” (aka “Cullinan I”)

“Cullinan I” is one of the 9 pieces that previously made up the world’s largest gem diamond “Cullinan”, which weighed 3106.75 carats (more than half a kilogram). Cullinan was found early last century in Africa, in the mine of diamond magnate, Sir Thomas Cullinan. In 1902, the diamond became the property of the British crown – it was presented to Edward VII, who gave the stone to a famous jewelry workshop for cutting. It is said that the owner of the workshop, Asher, the best cutter in Europe, took months to find the one point on the surface of the stone that was to be struck. After this blow, the stone split into two large blocks, seven smaller ones and a hundred smaller ones. It took several years to further cut all the pieces.

The largest shard became the blank for “Cullinan I” – a colorless drop-shaped diamond with 74 facets weighing 530.2 carats. Now the “Star of Africa” is the centerpiece of the scepter of British monarchs. In 1908, the stone was valued at 2.5 million dollars (now it is 51 million). Experts believe that “Cullinan” is the third most expensive diamond in the world: its price is about $400 million. Formally, the stone is considered priceless.

4th place – sapphire gray-blue “Hope” (“Blue Frenchman”)

The Hope diamond weighs 45.52 carats and has a cushion cut (“cushion”). The diamond’s clarity is VS1. According to legend, the diamond was stolen from the statue of an ancient Indian goddess and is endowed with the ability to bring misfortune to its owners. It is known that the 115-carat triangular stone was bought by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who sold it to Louis XIV. After cutting, the stone “lost weight” to 69 carats, and the current weight and shape of the diamond acquired after the next re-cutting. Now “Hope” is kept in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (Washington) and is valued at $350 million.

5th place – absolutely transparent diamond “Centennial”

The unique 273.85-carat Centenary diamond with a flawless heart-shaped cut has the highest FI clarity and the highest D color grade. It is considered to be the largest stone with such benchmark characteristics. It was named in honor of the centennial of the diamond mining company that discovered it. It was first presented to the public in 1988 and cut in 1991. In 2008, the stone was sold to a private collection. Today “Centennial” is valued at $100 million.

6th place – Pink Star

“Pink Star” (Pink Star) is the rarest representative of pink diamonds weighing 59.6 carats. It is the largest of the colored diamonds and is considered the finest pink diamond in the world. The world saw the Pink Star in 2003, years after a 100 carat pink diamond was found in a South African mine and cut by a team of 8 jewelers. In the fall of 2013, the stone fetched $83 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

7th place – blue Wittelsbach

The blue Wittelsbach diamond has a weight of 35.56 carats and a truly royal hue. No one knows where it came from. It is only known that it was also brought to Europe by merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier, and in 1722 the stone became part of the dowry of Maria of Austria, became the property of the Wittelsbach house, and later adorned the Bavarian crown. In 2008, the diamond was sold to a British jeweler for $24.3 million, and then, after re-cutting, changed the owner – it became the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Kalif, who bought the stone for $80 million.

8th place – “Blue Moon”

This sky-blue stone weighing 12.03 carats got its name thanks to an English proverb, the analog of which is the Russian one – “after the rain on Thursday”. It literally sounds like “once in a blue moon”, which means “under a blue moon”. This is how they talk about an unusually rare event.

The 29.6-carat blue diamond was found in an African deposit in 2014. And after its cutting in 2015, the owner of the rarest treasure became a seven-year-old girl Josephine, the daughter of a Hong Kong millionaire, who bought the diamond for 48.4 million dollars.

No. 9 is the flawless “Pink Graff.”

This amazing stone of delicate pink hue has a classic cut and weighs 24.78 carats. It belongs to the rarest group IIa stones and is virtually free of impurities. Only less than 2% of mined diamonds can boast such characteristics. No one knows where the stone came from, where it was extracted from the depths and who cut it. It acquired its name only in 2010, when Lawrence Graff bought it for $46 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

No. 10 is the pink “Little Prince.”

A diamond of the finest, absolutely childlike and at the same time the noblest pink shade “Little Prince” weighs 34.65 carats and was found in the famous Indian mines more than three centuries ago. The stone was the property of the rulers of Hyderabad, but in 1960, when the financial situation of one of them shaken, left the auction. For almost half a century the stone was never heard of until it reappeared at auction in 2013 and was sold for $39.3 million to an unknown buyer.