From deep blues, to stunning reds, here are 10 of the rarest and most expensive diamonds in the world! 10. The Heart of Eternity ($16 million) The stone that was made into the heart of Eternity Diamond was found at the world’s largest supplier of blue diamonds, the South African Premier Diamond Mine. Blue diamonds are incredibly rare with, on average, only one being found every year, and this one was an amazing find. The rough stone was 777 carats when it was dug up, and the owners waited until they had the perfect design idea before they started cutting it. The result was The Millenium Blue Diamonds- a series of heart, pear drop and oval shaped diamonds of which the Heart Of Eternity is the largest. In recent years it has been on tour at various exhibitions, including at the Millennium exhibition in London in 2000, followed by the Smithsonian museum. It was reportedly bought in 2012 by Floyd Mayweather to give to his fiancée, but no details of the selling price were ever revealed.
The $16 million price tag is an estimate based on its size and color, but the finished piece could be worth far more when you consider what a rare piece it is. 9. The Moussaieff Red Diamond ($20 million) Diamonds come in many colors, but red ones are particularly rare. According to the Cape Town Diamond Museum there have only been up to 30 true red diamonds ever found, with most of them being less than half a carat.
A farmer in Brazil found the rough stone that was to become the Moussaieff Red Diamond in the 90’s. At a weight of carats it immediately became the center of attention. The William Goldberg Diamond Corporation from New York then bought it, and decided to cut it into a triangular brilliant cut. This process would mean losing carats, but the resulting cranberry colored carat gem is simply stunning. It was originally named the Red Shield, but was renamed by the Moussaieff Jewelers when they purchased it for about $8 million at the turn of the century. This diamond has regularly been to exhibitions, being shown alongside other ones in the Smithsonian. Were it to be sold, it would be expected to cost at least $20 million. 8. The Perfect Pink ($23 million) When it sold for $23 million in 2010, the Perfect Pink Diamond was the most expensive jewel that had ever been sold in Asia. It weighs carats, is graded as fancy intense pink, and is set in a rose and white gold ring with rectangular shaped diamonds on either side.
Pure Pink diamonds of more than 10 carats are very unusual, with only 18 examples having gone to auction in the past 244 years; none of which was classified as intense pink at the time of sale. This makes the Perfect Pink a truly unique piece, and explains why it sold for ten million dollars more than had been expected. 7. The Wittelsbach Diamond ($million) The first records of the Wittelsbach Diamond come from back in the 17th century when it was sold to Louis XIV of France.
It has a rare blue color, and weighs carats. The stone has a royal history, having been passed down through families since the 1600’s. It went from France, to Spain, and over to Germany, where it accompanied the German King Louis III to his burial place in 1921. At some point in the 30’s it was sold to raise money for the German government, and from here things get mysterious. No one seemed to know who had bought it, and it somehow got replaced with a piece of blue glas in the museum. Rumors of the actual diamond changing hands were rife in the following decades, until 1962 when it reappeared at a jewelery store in Belgium.
It was sold in 2008 for $million and, to the dismay of diamond historians, the new owner decided that it should be recut, since it had originally been done in the early 1600’s. The resulting stone, now carats, meant that both the color and quality were improved, and the estimated price sky-rocketed. 6. The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond ($million) The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond broke records at the time in 2016 for being the most expensive jewel that has ever been sold at auction, as well as the largest fancy vivid blue diamond that has ever been offered for sale.
Named after its previous owner, Sir Philip Oppenheimer, the diamond weighs in at carats, and is set in a platinum ring with trapeze shaped diamonds on either side. Its clarity is graded as one step below internally flawless, which also helped it break the record for the “per-carat” price. So remarkable is the color of this gem that it has been graded as fancy vivid, which is a term used to describe diamonds that are medium to dark in tone, and strong in saturation. Only 1% of blue diamonds are fancy vivid and, with blue diamonds being unusual in the first place, this one truly is one of a kind.
5. The Pink Star ($million) The Pink Star Diamond went to auction in April of 2017, just last week at the time of this video, and smashed its estimate of $60 million dollars. It sold for just over $71 million. It became the most expensive diamond that has ever been sold- overtaking the Oppenheimer Blue Diamond by over 13 million. The pink diamond weighs an impressive carats, and is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond that has ever been graded by the Gemological Institute of America. The original rough stone weighed 1carats when it was mined by De Beers in Africa in 1999. It took two years of planning, cutting, and polishing to make it into its current oval shape, a process that shaved off over 70 carats! The identity of the new owner of this beautiful piece is being kept a secret, but the sheer size of it means it’ll be tough to keep under wraps if they ever wear it out.
4. The Centenary Diamond ($100 million) The Centenary Diamond was discovered in De Beers’ Premier Mine in 1986 with the assistance of cutting edge x-ray technology. The rough stone weighed 599 carats, which makes it the third largest diamond to have ever been found there, and it was graded as being internally and externally flawless. It took 154 days for a specialist team to hand cut the stone into the stunning modified heart shape design. They created a special underground room in Johannesburg which controlled the temperature and vibrations to minimize the chances of any mistakes. It was completed in 1991 with 247 facets- 164 of which are on its pavilion and crown, and 83 on its girdle, and ended up at a weight of 2carats. The diamond has been on display at the Tower of London for a number of years, but the true owner is not actually known.
It has never been put up for sale in a public auction, so it’s tough to estimate its actual value- but at the time of unveiling in 1991 it was insured for $100 million dollars. 3. The Hope Diamond ($200+ million) The hope diamond is one of the most famous jewels in the world, having changed hands between owners in India, France, England and America in the past four centuries. It has also become synonymous with bad luck and thought to be cursed. The stone weighs carats, and is the largest deep blue diamond in the world. The color is described as a magnificent sky-blue, and it emits a red glow. The first records that mention it come from back in 1668 when King Louis the fourteenth of France, a renowned diamond collector, bought it. It went missing a century later in the chaos surrounding the French revolution, and reappeared in London in 1812.
After being sold on to various owners in the following years, it made its way over to America when it was purchased by an American heiress called Evalyn Walsh McLean. Wanting to make the diamond even more special, this is when it was put into its current setting – surrounded by 16 white diamonds and hanging on a chain made with 45 diamonds. There are numerous stories of owners beset by misfortune over the years. The French merchant, who supposedly originally took the stone from the eye of a Hindu idol in India and returned it to France where he sold it to the king, was apparently mauled to death by dogs.
King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were beheaded in the French revolution, and Evalyn McLean had a miserable life after buying the diamond, with her son being killed in a car crash, her daughter committing suicide, her husband leaving for another woman, and she, herself, ending up in an asylum. It was acquired by the Smithsonian museum in 1958, where it remains, and despite it never having been sold on the open market, to give an idea of its value, it is currently thought to be insured for around $250 million.
It would be expected to go for even more than that if it ever was to be put up for sale. The curse of the diamond luckily hasn’t seemed to have affected the museum. 2. The Cullinan I ($400 million) The Cullinan Diamonds, also known as the star of Africa, all originate from one stone that was found at the Premier mine in South Africa, and weighed a mighty 3,1carats (about 1,369 lbs)! At the time, this was twice the size of any other diamond that had ever been found anywhere. It was named after the owner of the mine where it was found, Sir Thomas Cullinan, and was soon given to the British King Edward VII as “a token of the loyalty and attachment of the people of Transvaal to his throne and person”. It was sent to the Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam who separated it into three segments, and later was divided into nine large stones, and 96 smaller fragments.
Of these cuts, the Cullinan I stone is by far the largest, most valuable, and most prestigious. Often referred to as the Great Star of Africa, it weighs 530,2 carats and has been cut into a pear shape. If you have seen the British crown jewels, then this diamond might look familiar- it’s the one that is set in the head of the Scepter with the Cross. It is also removable so it can be worn separately. While the Cullinan I has never been on public sale, it’s thought to be worth in excess of $400 million dollars- with the entire Cullinan set being valued at over $2 billion dollars.
1. The Koh-i-Noor ($1+ billion) This is another diamond that hasn’t ever been available for public sale but, because of it’s notoriety and history, is thought to be worth over one billion dollars. Known as the Koh-i-Noor, which is Persian for “Mountain of Light”, this 1carat diamond is a part of the British Crown Jewels; set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth. It is only ever worn by women, because is thought to be unlucky for men. There is much controversy surrounding this diamond as to its ownership. Some think this diamond was first found by humans over 5000 years ago, with it being referred to as the Syamantaka jewel in Sanskrit writings, but the first confirmed record dates back to 1526 when it was in the possession of the Indian conqueror, Babur.
For the next three hundred years it regularly changed hands between various Indian and Perisan leaders as they fought each other, but was gifted to Queen Victoria in 1850 as a peace offering. After failing to impress at the Great Exhibition in 1851, the rose-cut diamond was re-cut into an oval brilliant shape, and has been a part of the crown jewels ever since. The Indian authorities have long demanded the return of the diamond- that they see as having been stolen from them during colonial times. The Brits reject these allegations, though, claiming that it was given to Queen Victoria by an Indian king. Unsurprisingly this response has not satisfied those that think it should be returned, so the dispute over its ownership continues. Thanks for watching! Remember to subscribe and click right here for more videos! See you soon! Byeee!.