Top 10 Costliest Diamonds in the World

10) Moussaieff Red $20 Million

It was earlier called the Red Shield Diamond.  It weighs 5.11 carat or 1.022 g with a Trillian cut. It is also the world’s largest Red Diamond recorded till date.  Discovered by a famer in 1990s this was originally weighed at 13.9 carats or 2.78 g.  Red diamonds are also one of the rarest color of diamond. It was brought and cut by the William Goldberg Diamond corp and finally bought by an Israeli Jewelry designer, Shlomo Moussaieff. The Moussaieff are currently the proud owner of this exquisite diamond.  The current estimated value of Moussaieff Re diamond is $20 Million. Moussaieffs are famous for their purchase of antiques and stones they recently paid $7.98 million for a blue diamond which weighed a 6.04 carat.

9) Perfect Pink $23 Million

 

Christie’s Hong Kong made a little bit of history in 2010 by selling a rare ‘Perfect Pink Diamond’.  Although, it was overshadowed by the auction of ‘Graff Pink’ by Sotheby’s house, which is another rare ‘Pink’ diamond. This 14.23 carat beauty became the most expensive jewels to be ever sold on Asian grounds.  The Pink Diamond is complemented by two D-Flawless diamonds of 1.73 and 1.67 carats each.  Large Pink diamonds are known for their rarity and remarkable intensity of color and Perfect Pink shows no trace of secondary color giving it a ‘perfect’ pink look.  An anonymous buyer bought this for $23 Million.

8) Cullinan Heritage $35.3 Million

The Honk Kong jeweler from Chow Tai Fook Jewellery bade for this 507 carat diamond which is the world’s 19thg biggest to be found till date and bought it for $ 35.3 Million in 2010. Surprisingly the chicken-egg sized Cullinan Heritage just required a meager amount of $ 250 to be produced. It finds its place in the world’s top 20 high- quality rough diamonds. Petra’s Cullinan Mines in South Africa are recorded to have produced some of the world’ most biggest and expensive diamonds. And it is the highest sale price ever achieved for a rough diamond and if it is polished it could be used to produce what will be one of the world’s most important diamonds.

 

7) Princie Diamond $40 Million

The Princie Diamond is weighed around 34.65 carat or 6.93 g transformed into a beautiful cushion-cut this intense pink diamond was discovered around 3 centuries back. It is believed to be the third largest pink diamond to be found in the world after the two most famous Iranian Crown jewels which are 175 and 60 carat each. Christie’s auction held this is year in April fetched around $ 39.3 million for it and now its estimated value is more than $ 40 Million. Princie Diamond was found it the famous Golconda mines and has a VS 2 clarity which is why it is a particular intense pink color. Originally it belonged to the Royal family of Hyderabad but then the Nizam had it auctioned at Sotheby’s in 1960 and was bought by Van Cleef $ apparels. The name Princie was given in honor of Maharani of Baroda’s 14 year old son and from 1960 it never saw a public auction until this year. Although expected to garner more than $ 45 Million dollar it still ended up on a record breaking price of $ 39.3 Million

6) Graff Pink $46 million

Graff Pink is a 24.78 carat rare pink diamond. It has been described as one of the greatest diamond ever to be discovered (by harry Winston who is an American Celebrity Jeweler). It is mounted on a ring and quite mysteriously the origin or date of discovered is shrouded in assumptions.  On 16 November 2010, Sotheby’s auctioned it and it fetched $ 46 Million thus making it to the top ten lists of most expensive diamonds ever to be auctioned.  It was also the most expensive single jewel piece to be auctioned till date. Assessed as type IIa Graff Pink has been placed in one of the top 2% diamonds of the world.  Bought by the diamond dealer Laurence Graff this was rechristened as Graff Pink and is now with the Graff Diamonds.

5) Wittelsbach Diamond $80 Million

This 31.06 carat fancy deep-blue diamond is known for its internally flawless clarity. Laurence Graff of Graff Diamonds who also happens to be the owner of Graff pink has claimed that he had had the diamond cut by three cutters and now it weighs 4 carat less. The aesthetician has blamed Graff of grossly compromising on its integrity. With VS 2 clarity this diamond had been a part of Austrian and Bavarian Jewel Crowns. Often compared with the Hope diamond it originates from The Golconda Mines and was discovered in 1600, the original owner was Philip IV of Spain. Sold to Graff in 2008 who bought it at $ 23.4 Million recut it to remove the damage from the girdle and the altered diamond was then sold to emir of Qatar, sheik Hamad bin Chalifa for a staggering $ 80 Million.

4) Centenary Diamond $90 million

Discovered on 17^th July 1986 in the Premier Mine, The De Beers Centenary Diamond weigh at 273.85 carats or 54.77 g and it’s the third largest diamond that this mine has produced. And for its external as well as internal clarity it has been rated as Grade D which is the highest for colorless diamonds. It originally weighed 599 carats or 120 g upon its discovery thus making it the one of the largest top-color diamonds ever to be found. Cutting this diamond to its finality was a task requiring immense amount of expertise and three world renowned diamond cutters along with a mini-army of engineers, electricians and security guards were invested in it.

3) Steinmetz Pink Diamond $100 Million

Brethren to ‘The De Beers Centenary Diamond’, Steinmetz Pink Diamond weighs 59.60 carat or 11.9g and has a Fancy Vivid Pink color. It is also the only known and the largest diamond rated as Vivid – Pink. It took 20 arduous months for a team of eight people to cut this original 100 carat rough stone into this beautiful diamond in a Mixed Oval Brilliant and was finally revealed to world in May 2003. It’s mine of origin and date of discovery however, is unknown.  It is the finest pink-diamond in the world presently and is said to have been discovered in a South African mine.  Currently owned by the Steinmetz Group its estimated value is $ 100 Million.

2) Le Bijou du Roi $250 million

It is what you think it is, the ‘Hope’ Diamond.  Deemed as cursed and believed to be a harbinger of doom for its wearer (although many believe these superstitions were forged to increase its market value). Also known as the Taverneir Blue it was found in the Kollur mine, the date of discovery in unknown however the first owner is believed to be Daniel Eliason who documented it in his inventory in 1812. Rated as a Type IIb diamond it weighs 45.52 carat or 9.10 g. Housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum this is perhaps the most famous diamond in the world, also owing its popularity to the numerous superstitions attached to it.

1) Star of Africa $2 billion

At 3,106.75 carat or 6211.35 g this is the largest gem quality diamond to have ever been found in the history.  It comes from the Premier mine near Pretoria, South Africa. Being the largest diamond its journey from the mine of origin to the research lab in England was a huge potential security problem and a diversionary tactic was used (in case you are interested you could see it in ocean 12). The Cullinan was so huge that it was cut into 7 major stones and 96 smaller ones. Currently owned by the British crown the original Cullinan is estimated to be a $ 2 Billion, thus making it the world’s most expensive diamond.