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 a real gift to humanity, which came to us from the depths of the earth's bowels.

There are few in the world of precious diamonds weighing more than 100 carats. Of course, their number increased after the opening of copies in South America, but nevertheless remained very limited. The cost of the stones is such that each of them is more than just jewelry. This is a symbol of power, a source of all kinds of benefits and the cause of many troubles. At the time of tyrannical rulers, the largest diamonds sometimes found themselves in weak and insecure hands - greedy but powerful neighbors used it, plunging the country into the abyss of bloody and ruthless wars.

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

In times of financial and social cataclysms, owners of unique jewelry could always sell them at a real price - even when banknotes in their eyes lost their significance and simply turned into 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 countries engaged in diamond mining, India is recognized as the birthplace of stones with history, and this is primarily due to the fact that for many years it was from here that the most expensive stones were imported to Europe.

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

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

The next mention of Sansi 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.

There are many legends associated with this stone. So, one of them says that initially the diamond belonged to Karl the Bold and was stolen on the battlefield from the deceased king. Another argues that at the end of the 19th century the stone was handed over to the Indian merchant and passed into the ownership of the Maharaja Patiala - but neither one nor the other legend has any confirmation whatsoever, and historians assure that, most likely, these cases we are talking about completely different stones.

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

This is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Legends say that after the discovery, the stone was in the hands of the ruler of the Mughal dynasty, after which he fell 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 XVIII century, a bloody coup took place in the country, during which the diamond fell into the hands of the Afghan Ahmad Abdali, who made an attempt to capture the throne, but after its failure fled to Kandahar, taking the loot with him. In a new place, he took the name Durr-i-Duran, which 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 leaders was forced to seek refuge from Rajah Ranjit Singh, who was granted him in exchange for all the jewelry.

Until 1849, the stone remained in Tashkhan, then the treasure was owned by the East India Company and was presented as a gift to Queen Victoria. At her direction, the diamond was transferred to 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 a new form, although with the loss of its original form all the historical value of diamond has disappeared.

It is known that Queen Victoria wore this stone for many years as a brooch, 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 Kohinur stone. According to Indian tradition, the stone brought misfortune to its owner. It is no coincidence that in Paris this diamond appeared simultaneously with the plague, which 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 gave this jewelry to one of his favorites, however, pretty soon cooled to her. At the same time, the king began to pursue failure - he suffered one military defeat after another. And yet Louis the Sun lived a rather long and comfortable life, which cannot be said of 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 defeated - one of the jewelers managed to remove the stone from London, but soon he and his son fell at the hands of an unknown killer.

In 1830, the diamond fell into the hands of the Hope Dynasty family and remained there until the head of the family sold it to cover its 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 several years later he killed her out of jealousy, but the nobleman himself was shot dead a little later.

But the story of the diamond does not end there - it turns out to be a certain Spaniard who died in the collapse of the Titanic, and when selling the property of this person he got into the house, where the only dearly beloved child suddenly died after the purchase, the owner of the diamond went crazy with grief.

This stone is perhaps the most unusual of all found in India. They discovered it in the middle of the XVIII century - at that time its weight was 300 carats, and it was a fragment of a larger stone - according to experts, the “parent” diamond weighed about 450 carats.

The diamond was bought by Shah Jahan, who made a cut in the form of a rose with a large number of small faces - by the way, the shape has been preserved to this day, so the stone is of such historical interest.

According to ancient tradition, this diamond served as one of the jewels adorning the statue of Brahma, but at the beginning of the 18th century it was stolen by a French soldier who fraudulently rubbed his trust in the temple minister. He later sold the diamond to the captain of an English ship for just 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 was in the hands of Grigory Orlov, who gave it to Empress Catherine The second, whose favorite, according to historians, was a rather long time.

The largest diamond in the world is Cullinan, also known as the "Star of Africa." Its weight is more than 3,000 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 to the English king Edward the Seventh in honor of his birthday, at the direction of which he was split into several fairly large parts. The total weight of the stones was 1063 carats, which corresponds to only a third of the initial 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 placed a chisel on 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 was called “Our Light” and became the second largest stone in the history of the millennium with a mass of 1109 carats and a size of 6.5x5.6x4 cm. In 2016, an attempt was made to sell it at the Sotheby's auction, but it failed miserably - the maximum selling price of $ 61 million was lower than the expected 70 million.

The Constellation is a gem weighing 813 carats, also found in Botswana in 2015.

One of the most expensive stones in the world is the Pink Star diamond. Its weight is 59.6 carats, in 2013 it was sold at Sotheby's for $ 83 million - this is a record price in history, however, a few months later it became known that the buyer was not able to collect the required amount, and the stone was sold him, but for 72 million.

The largest diamond of all ever put up for auction, with a mass of 101.7 carats, was called "Winston's Legacy." It was sold for $ 27 million. It is known that this stone was obtained by cutting a 236-carat diamond discovered 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 creator of the Tiffany company - he attracted him not so much in size, but in his canary color. At the direction of the jeweler, the diamond was faceted, after which it acquired a perfect shape unusual 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 people who lived in this world can boast of holding this unique stone in their hands - the famous actress became one of the lucky ones Audrey Hepburn, who showed this diamond in an advertisement for the legendary film Tiffany's Breakfast.

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