We continue our list of historically famous diamonds that have been the objects of wonder, of desire, of jealousy and of course, something to be possessed with a passion. In my last blog, I talked about four magnificent stones namely Cullinan, The Golden Jubilee, The Incomparable, The Cullinan II that have memorized mankind.
5. The Spirit of de Grisogono: Amongst the rarest of rare diamonds, the Spirit of de Grisogono is the the black beauty found in west Central Africa. Originally weighing 587 carats in its rough form, the world’s largest black diamond was cut and polished down to 312.24 carats in the Mogul cut style. Though an exceptional and rare diamond, the Spirit of de Grisogono has managed to disappear from public eye and its current location and ownership are unknown.
6. The Centenary Diamond: A diamond carrying an insurance policy of $100 million, and with its present location and ownership a secret, the Centenary is one of the most revered diamonds the world has ever known. Mined at 599 carats from the Premier Mine in 1986, it was cut and polished to a finished 273.85 carats. It is a splendid D color diamond. The most unique feature of the Centenary is its 247 facets, the highest number for any known diamond polished up to that time.
Hard Fact: There are many large stones that have been exceptional and that have unfortunately disappeared from the public domain. In most cases, this has happened on account of theft.
7. The Jubilee: Named in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria of England, the Jubilee is an E colored diamond with outstanding clarity. Mined at 650.80 carat from the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa in 1895 this magnificent stone was cut into cushion shape yielding a polished diamond of 245.35 carats. Its present valuation is unknown.
Interesting Trivia: The diamond industry employs more than 10 million people worldwide and boasts of roughly $100 billion in annual revenue. If we put together the 50 biggest diamonds in the world their value would easily exceed the current annual revenue amount.
8. The De Beers: Another diamond mined back in 1888 by De Beers from its Kimberley mines, the De Beers was named after the company. Believed to have been cut and polished in Amsterdam, it was put on display in Paris. His Highness Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala acquired it and commissioned Cartier to set it into an exclusive ceremonial necklace in 1928. With 2930 diamonds, the stunning necklace was aptly dubbed the Patiala Necklace. The necklace and the diamond have both gone missing since then.
There are four more outstanding stones that I absolutely cannot leave out of my list of the most famous stones. I will share my complete list of the twelve most famous stones on my next blog.
