In the world of diamonds: the most famous, beautiful and expensive stones

Diamond is a crystalline form of carbon. This is the hardest breed, while the most expensive. Jewelers consider this gem to be a real gift to humanity, which came to us from the depths of the earth's interior.

There are few precious diamonds in the world that weigh more than 100 carats. Of course, their number increased after the discovery of copies in South America, but nevertheless remained very limited. The value of the stones is such that each of them is more than just jewelry. It is a symbol of power, the source of all kinds of benefits and the cause of many troubles. During the times of despotic rulers, the largest diamonds sometimes ended up in weak and insecure hands - this was used by greedy but powerful neighbors, plunging the country into the abyss of bloody and merciless wars.

In a more civilized society, the owners of the largest gems often used them as collateral when it was necessary to replenish the impoverished treasury.

In times of financial and social cataclysms, the owners of unique jewelry could always sell them at a real price - even when banknotes were losing their significance before our very eyes and turned into just pieces of paper.

The stories of the largest and most expensive stones are often associated with romantic events, stories of great love and no less great hatred.

Among all the countries involved in diamond mining, India is recognized as the homeland of stones with a history, and this is primarily due to the fact that for many years the most expensive stones were imported from here to Europe.

There are several diamonds that are famous all over the world.

This is one of the world famous diamonds, purchased in Constantinople around 1570 by the French ambassador Nicolas de Arles. After some time, he resold his stone to Queen Elizabeth. Its further fate is unknown, but there are confirmed facts that a century later it was presented to Louis XIV.

The next mention of Sancy dates back to 1828, when it was sold to the Russian prince Demidov, and 40 years later it was bought by Lord Astor as a wedding gift to his beloved son.

Many legends are associated with this stone. So, one of them says that the diamond originally belonged to Karl the Bold and was stolen from the deceased king on the battlefield. Another claims that at the end of the 19th century, the stone was transferred into the hands of an Indian merchant and became the property of the Maharaja Patiala - but neither one nor the other legend has any confirmation, and historians assure that, most likely, the speech in these cases are about completely different stones.

This stone was discovered in 1893. It was distinguished by a pleasant blue-white color and was of exceptionally high quality. Initially, its mass was 995 carats, but later it was divided into 21 stones with a total weight of 373 carats - thus, the weight loss was about 62%.

It is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Legends say that after the discovery, the stone ended up in the hands of the ruler of the Mughal dynasty, after which it got to Shah Jahan and became the main decoration of his Peacock throne.

A few years later, India was captured by a Persian shah named Nadir, who became the new owner of the stone. In the middle of the 18th century, a bloody coup took place in the country, during which the diamond ended up in the hands of the Afghani Ahmad Abdali, who attempted to seize the throne, but after its failure fled to Kandahar, taking the booty with him. In a new place, he took the name Durr-i-Duran, which in translation means the Pearl of the century. After his death, a long period of turmoil followed: power passed from one hand to another - one of the false rulers was forced to seek refuge from Raja Ranjit Singh, which he was provided in exchange for all the jewelry.

Until 1849, the stone remained in Tashkhan, then the treasure turned out to be the property of the East India Company and was presented as a gift to Queen Victoria. At her direction, the diamond was re-cut into a smaller diamond - its weight was reduced from 191 to 109 carats. The reasons for this decision are still unknown, but the play of light has improved in the new form, although with the loss of the original form, the entire historical value of the diamond has disappeared.

It is known that Queen Victoria wore this stone as a brooch for many years, after her death the jewel was equated with royal regalia - the stone adorned the Royal Crown of Britain.

It is believed that the history of this diamond is even darker than the fate of the Koh-i-noor stone. According to Indian legends, the stone brought misfortune to its owner. It is no coincidence that this diamond appeared in Paris at the same time as the plague that claimed thousands of lives.

The stone was presented to Louis XIV, who wished to make a heart-shaped diamond out of this blue diamond of extraordinary beauty.He presented this piece of jewelry to one of his favorites, however, pretty soon he lost interest in her. At the same time, the king began to pursue setbacks - he suffered one military defeat after another... And yet Louis Solntse lived a rather long and comfortable life, which cannot be said about the rest of the owners of this diamond. So, it is known that later the stone came to Marie Antoinette, who gave it to her beloved daughter. During the revolution, the princess was killed, and the queen herself was publicly executed.

Soon after, the royal treasury was also destroyed - one of the jewelers managed to take the stone out of London, but soon both he and his son fell at the hands of an unknown assassin.

In 1830, the diamond ended up in the hands of the Hope Dynasty family and remained there until the head of the family sold it to pay off his debts. The stone was bought by the Turkish sultan for his second wife, but soon the sultan was overthrown, the woman was killed and robbed. After that, the stone came to Russia to Prince Korytkovsky. The nobleman presented it to his mistress, but a few years later he killed her out of jealousy, and the nobleman himself was shot a little later.

But the story of the diamond does not end there - it turns out to be in the possession of a Spaniard who died in the wreck of the Titanic, and during the sale of this man's property he ended up in a house where, immediately after the purchase, his only beloved child suddenly died, the owner of the diamond went crazy with grief.

This stone is perhaps the most unusual of all found in India. It was discovered in the middle of the 18th century - at that time its weight was 300 carats, and it was a larger piece of stone - according to experts, the "parent" diamond weighed about 450 carats.

The diamond was bought by Shah Jahan, who cut it into a rose with a large number of small facets - by the way, the shape has been preserved to this day, which is why the stone is of such historical interest.

According to an old legend, this diamond served as one of the jewels that adorned the statue of Brahma, but at the beginning of the 18th century it was stolen by a French soldier who deceived himself into the trust of the temple servant. Later, he sold the diamond to the captain of an English ship for only 2 thousand pounds, and he sold it to a merchant in London for 12 thousand.

It is not known how true these facts are, but it is documented that in 1773 he ended up in the hands of Grigory Orlov, who presented it to Empress Catherine The second, whose favorite, according to historians, has been for quite a long time.

The largest diamond in the world is the Cullinan, also known as the "Star of Africa". Its weight is more than 3000 carats, which corresponds to an example of 620 grams, its dimensions are no less impressive - 10x6.5x5 cm.This unique stone was discovered by chance in South African mines in 1905, most likely, it was a fragment of an even larger crystal, which was never found. After 2 years, the stone was presented as a gift to the English king Edward the Seventh in honor of his birthday, on whose instructions it was split into several rather large pieces. The total weight of the stones obtained was 1063 carats, which corresponds to only a third of the original mass of the jewel.... The decision to split the stone was forced: the fact is that there were cracks in it, and it was not possible to make one large faceted gem from it. The court jeweler studied the Star of Africa for several months before, in the presence of other eminent jewelers, he set a chisel to the diamond and hit it with a hammer - this decision was so difficult for the master that he even lost consciousness for a while.

One of the most beautiful and largest stones was discovered in Northern Botswana in 2015. It received the name "Our Light" and became the second largest stone in the history of the millennium with a mass of 1109 carats and dimensions of 6.5x5.6x4 cm. In 2016, an attempt was made to sell it at Sotheby's, but it failed miserably - the maximum selling price of $ 61 million was lower than the expected $ 70 million.

Constellation is an 813 carat gem also found in 2015 in Botswana.

One of the most expensive stones in the world is the Pink Star diamond. Its weight is 59.6 carats, in 2013 at Sotheby's auction it was sold for 83 million dollars - this is a record price in history, however, several months later it became known that the buyer was unable to collect the required amount, and the stone was sold to him, but for 72 million.

The largest diamond ever put up for auction, at 101.7 carats, was named Winston's Legacy. It was sold for $ 27 million. It is known that this stone was obtained by cutting a 236-carat diamond found in Botswana.

One of the most famous stones in the world is the Tiffany diamond. It was found in Africa, after which it was immediately bought by the founder of the Tiffany company - he attracted him not so much by his size as by his canary color. At the direction of the jeweler, the diamond was cut, after which it acquired a completely unusual shape for diamonds - a quadrangle with rounded edges. In the strict sense of the word, it cannot be called one of the most expensive stones - it has never been put up for sale. Thus, it does not have an auction estimate, but nevertheless takes its place on a par with such well-known diamonds as "Golden Jubilee", "Count Wittelsbach" and others.

Few of the people who lived in this world can boast that they held this unique stone in their hands - the famous actress became one of the lucky ones. Audrey Hepburn, who showed off this diamond in the commercial for the legendary Breakfast at Tiffany's.

An overview of the most expensive diamonds on our planet is in the next video.