April's Birthstone, Diamond

Lucky April! Their birthstone is the diamond. And who doesn't like a beautiful, sparkling, brilliant diamond? I know I certainly do.

Diamonds were originally discovered in India about 2500 years ago. The diamond derives its name from the Greek, "adamas," meaning "unconquerable the eternity of love." It is the hardest and purest gemstone known to man. Most diamonds known to the average person are clear and colorless, but there are other varieties and colors such as brown, black, gray, yellow, red, green, pink and blue. Their colors are determined by the impurities found in the stone.

The value of a colorless diamond is decided by the 4 Cs, cut, color, clarity and carat.

Cut will decide the brilliance of the diamond. During the process of cutting the diamond, the jeweler is making every effort to maximize the amount light the stone will reflect back to the viewer. Most diamonds have 58 carefully cut flat surfaces, called facets. the placement of the facets will determine the stones fire, brilliance and beauty.




A diamond is more valuable when it is colorless. Depending on the quality of the diamond, all the colors of the rainbow will be reflected back to the viewer. Diamonds are graded in color on a scale from totally colorless, near colorless, faint yellow, very light yellow to light yellow. Experts grade a diamond by comparing it to a master diamond of known color.

Clarity depends on the number of inclusions within the stone. The smaller the amount, the clearer, brighter and more costly a diamond is. Flawless diamonds are very rare, and therefore, very costly.

Diamonds are measured in carat weight. One carat is divided into 100 points, and therefore, a quarter carat diamond has 25 points, and so on. The size of a diamond is significant only when the other qualities are considered. So you can have a large diamond that is expensive or inexpensive depending on also the cut, color and clarity.

The Queen's Controversial Crown

I was interested in finding out about the crown the Queen of England wore during her diamond jubilee celebration.  Apparently, one of the oldest and famous diamonds known, the Koh-i-Noor diamond, adorns the royal crown.  This diamond came into the possession of Queen Victoria in 1850.  Two years later, she had it cut to a smaller 109 carats to adorn the royal crown.   This meant a  loss of weight of almost 43%.  It was then set in the queen’s crown, in frontal position.   This is the same crown Queen Elizabeth wore during her diamond jubilee celebration.

 

 

But there is a controversary that has been going on for many years as to who is the rightful owner of the diamond.

According  to the legend, this diamond is more than 2000 years old.  It was mined, at some point, in the 12th or 13th century A.D. in southern India and it quickly became a gleaming prize for a succession of dynasties  It has belonged to various Hindu, Persian, Raiput, Mughal, Turkic,  Afghan, Sikh and British rulers who fought bitterly over it at various points in history and seized it as a spoil of war time and time again. It was most recently looted by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.

Currently Queen Elizabeth's crown is on display at the Tower of London.

But India wants the diamond back.  They claim that the Kohinoor was taken away illegally or rather stolen and it should be given back to India.   Apparently, England does not agree. 

Charcoal and a Diamond

This was something that I saw on Facebook that I really liked, both literary and figuratively. 

Have Some Extra Cash?

Have some extra cash lying around? Need a place to spend it? Then you may be interested in Christie's auction of Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry.  Her complete jewelry collection, valued at $30 million, will be auctioned in New York on Dec. 13-14. That's just next week folks so you better make your plans soon.

"These are the top jewels that Elizabeth Taylor received from the great loves of her life, Mike Todd and Richard Burton," said Christie's jewelry expert Rahul Kadakia. "They're from moments in life that were very dear to her," jewels that were purchased in Bulgari in Rome, at Cartier in New York and at auction.

"The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond," from her estate, a 33.19-carat diamond estimated at roughly $3 million, is shown in this photograph at Christie's in New York City Sept. 1, 2011.

Elizabeth Taylor's ruby and diamond necklace, a gift of Mike Todd, is estimated at $200,000 to $300,000. Some of Taylor's pieces could bring in more than half a million dollars.

Elizabeth Taylor's "The Mike Todd Tiara" is estimated at $60,000 to $80,000.

Besides the live auction, there are about 500 pieces of Taylor's costume jewelry to be sold online at the same time.

If you can't afford a piece of her jewelry, there are catalogs available of the pieces on auction.  For collectors there is an ultra-limited edition, boxed set of the gem sale catalog accompanied by a signed copy of Taylor’s out-of-print 2002 book, “My Love Affair With Jewelry.”  Packaged in a lavender presentation box, it’s going for $2,500. Only 25 are available.

The same set, minus Taylor’s signature, is available for $600.  And there are some less expensive catalogs for $300.00 and $150.00 .

If you are interested, you  can see more of the jewelry for auction here .  Hope you enjoy.

 

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

Koh-i-nor/Mountain of Light

This is the sixth most famous diamond in the world and it is a beauty.

"Apparently, this is one of the oldest diamonds known to man. According to the legend, this diamond is more than 2000 years old, from before the birth of Christ. However, a much more documented hypothesis is that it was discovered in the early 1300s.  The earliest recorded mention of the diamond is in the memories of Babur (Baburnama), the first Mogul ruler of India. It then passed through  many hands and its long, complex history cannot be told here. It suffices to say that the diamond arrived to England in the 19^th century and entered the possession of Queen Victoria. Not satisfied with its cutting, which caused it to shine less than it should have, the queen had it recut, which meant a loss of weight of almost 43%. It was then set in the queen’s crown, in frontal position. India did not give up one of its most precious gems easily. The Indian government continued to ask the return of the diamond, with no success."

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

We are up to the fifth most famous diamond in the world.  That is the Spirit of De Grisogono.  Oh my God.  This ring is amazing!  And the black diamond is stunning.  What an outstanding work of art.

The Spirit of De Grisogono


This is known as the largest cut black diamond, and it measures 312, 24 carats. This beautiful diamond was named after the Swiss jeweler who cut it, using the old Mogul style. The result was the jewel you see in the picture and it is the work of an entire year. Currently, it is owned by a private client, who must be a very fortunate person.

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

The fourth most famous diamond in the world is the Idol's Eye.  Wow, a large diamond surrounded by more diamonds.  What more could you ask for.

The Idol’s Eye


The idol’s eye is one of the most mysterious diamonds in the world. Its entire history is unknown; we have no idea where it came from, when it was discovered or who owned it.  The only clue is its name, “The Idol’s Eye”. It appeared in a note, at Christie’s when it was described as a flawless large diamond. It was bought by an anonymous buyer and disappeared again for some years. Its owners changed several times afterwards and was bought in 1979 by Mr. Laurence Graff, who sold it again in 1983, to an anonymous buyer who is believed to own  the diamond today.

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

The third of the ten most famous diamonds is the Cullian I. What an incredible stone.

The Cullinan I


One of the most famous diamonds in the world, Cullinan I, was justly considered the largest diamond in the world up to the discovery of the Golden Jubilee.  Also known as “The Star of Africa”, the pear-shaped stone is the largest of the 9 diamonds cut from the largest rough diamond ever, the Cullinan diamond(3106,75 carats).  Currently, it is the head of St. Edward’s scepter, one of the British Crown Jewels but it can be removed and worn as a brooch.

Amazing!

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

The second of the ten most famous diamonds is the golden jubilee.  What an incredible size this diamond is.

 The Golden Jubilee

The Golden Jubilee is holding the title of the world’s largest faceted diamond in the world, measuring 545,67 carats. It was discovered in 1985, in the Premier mine of South Africa. At first, it was considered an ugly brown diamond. Gabriel Tolkowsky received the diamond, which was supposed to be used at testing some new tools and cutting methods. The result astonished everyone. It turned out that the “Unnamed Brown” was actually a very beautiful yellow-brown diamond. It remained unnamed until it was presented to the king of Thailand in 1997, for the 50^th anniversary of his coronation (thus, its name).

Note:  This article was on the website named Smashing Tops.  I do not know who the author is.  If anyone knows, I would like to know too so I can give credit to them.

Ten Most Famous Diamonds in the World

I recently saw this article on the website named Smashing Tops and I thought it was very interesting and so I wanted to share it on my blog, since I share about gems all the time. I do not know who the author is.  If anyone knows, I would like to know too so I can give credit to them.

It is about the ten most famous diamonds in the world.  The article is interesting and the photos gorgeous.  I am going to share one beautiful diamond per post.  So stay posted.

The first diamond is... 

The Hope Diamond


The Hope Diamond is not only one of the most famous gems in the world, but it is also one of the largest blue diamonds (4^th largest). It’s physical value might be estimated but it’s historical importance is priceless. It is so old that no one knows exactly when it was discovered. However, it already had an owner in 1668, in the person of an Indian slave who claimed that the 112 carats stone (which he believed to be a sapphire) came from the eye of an idol. Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a traveler and a gem merchant bought it and sold it afterwards to King Louis XIV of France. Its price today is estimated at $250 million. The legend says that this diamond was cursed by the Hindu priests of the temple from where it was stolen.

Hope you find these posts as interesting as I do.