Humans have been besotted with the sheer beauty of the diamond for thousands of years. Some called them fragments of stars, while others compared them to the tears of the gods. Here are five of the most beautiful diamonds in the world today:
The Taylor-Burton
The pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond has 69.42 carats and Flawless Clarity. Yet the diamond is not just famous for its beauty; it also has a glamorous history. Actor Richard Burton bought the stone as a gift for his wife Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.
The price of £460,250 (£7 million in today’s money) may seem quite modest by today’s standards. Yet due to its fairy-tale history and celebrity status, the diamond is now valued at more than £14.5 million.
The Oppenheimer Blue
Sold in May 2016 for a world record £44 million, the Oppenheimer Blue is the largest vivid blue diamond ever sold at auction. The gripping sale took place at Christie’s in Geneva.
The Oppenheimer Blue is set in a platinum ring, and sits between two lesser trapeze-shaped diamonds. While its VVS1 clarity grade makes it one step below Internally Flawless, its striking blue colour and rare beauty make it admired across the world.
The Cullianan Heritage
The Cullianan Heritage is a 507-carat white diamond with a Flawless Clarity rating. The stone sold for £27 million in 2010; setting a world record price for a rough diamond.
The buyer, Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai f*ck, set about turning it into a lavish necklace. The finished piece contains 11,551 diamonds and took 47,000 hours to perfect.
The Hope Diamond
Currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C, the Hope Diamond is a thing of truly rare beauty. The stone is prized partly because while it looks blue to the naked eye, it glows red when exposed to UV light.
Since going on display at the museum in 1958, over 100 million visitors have flocked to behold the splendour of the Hope Diamond.
The Archduke Joseph
The 76-carat Archduke Joseph is one of the world’s most revered diamonds. The stone is graded Internally Flawless and hails from the famous Golconda mines of India. The Archduke Joseph sold at auction to an anonymous bidder in 2012.
The price paid was £13 million; far more than the £9 million it was expected to reach. The sale set a world record price per carat for a colourless diamond. This came as no surprise to us here at Angelic Diamonds, as this diamond boasts peerless shape, clarity and colour.
