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The Origin of Diamond Cutting
Star of Africa
This very famous diamond is of 530.20 carats and is called the Cullian I or Star Africa diamond. It is the largest cut diamond in the world. Pear-shaped, with 74 facets, it is embedded in the Royal Scepter. It is kept with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. Originally it was a 3,106-carat Cullian, the largest diamond crystal ever found. The Cullian was found in Transvaal, South Africa in 1905 in the Premier Mine during an inspection tour.
The Cullian was cut by Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam. They examined the enormous crystal for around six months just to decide how to divide it. They eventually cut it into nine major, and 96 smaller brilliant-cut stones. When the Cullian was first found, certain indications were there that suggested it may have been part of a much larger crystal. But no discovery of the "missing half" has ever been proved.
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Excelsior
It is probably the second largest stone ever found. That is if the lost Braganza cannot be found and hence stake a claim to be the largest. The excelsior is a high-clarity, blue-white stone, and was found in l893 by a South African mine worker.
Since it had an irregular shape, it was cut into 21 polished stones, of which the largest was a marquise of 69.80 carats. A smaller, 18-carat marquise stone cut from the Excelsior was displayed at the l939 World's Fair by De Beers.
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Orloff
The Orloff is supposed to have weighed about 300 carats when it was found. At one time it was confused with the Great Mogul, and is now in the possesion of the former Soviet Union in the Diamond Treasury in Moscow.
One story about its origins is that the Orloff was set as the eye of a god in the temple of Sri Rangen and was stolen by a French soldier disguised as a local.
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Taylor-Burton
The Taylor-Burton was an unnamed pear-shaped 69.42 carat diamond and was sold at auction in 1969 with the understanding that it could be named by the buyer. Cartier (Jewelers) of New York successfully bid for it and immediately named it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the stone for Elizabeth Taylor for an undisclosed sum and renamed it the "Taylor-Burton." It was first seen publicly in a charity ball in Monaco in mid-November where Miss Taylor wore it as a pendant. In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor announced that she was selling it and planned to use part of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana. Just to see or examine the diamond, visitors had to pay $2,500 to cover the cost of showing it. It was sold in June 1979 for almost $3 million and was last reported to be in Saudi Arabia.
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Koh-i-Nur (Kohinoor)
Kohinoor means "Montain of Light" and its history, dating back to1304, is the longest of all famous diamonds. It was captured from the Rajahs of Malwa in the sixteenth century by the Mogul, Sultan Babur and remained in the possession of later Mogul emperors. It was also apparently set in the famous Peacock Throne made for Emperor Shah Jehan. After the break-up of the Persian Empire the diamond traveled around India. It was later offered to Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in exchange for military help. After war broke out between the Sikhs and the British, The East India Company claimed the diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850. At this point of time the stone weighed l986 carats; it was later recut to l08.93 carats. The Koh-i-Nur was first worn by the Queen in a brooch. It was later set in the State Crown, worn by Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, and in 1937 was worn for by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation. It is presently kept in the Tower of London.
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Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond takes its name from, Henry Thomas Hope. The Hope Diamond has an illustrious history, even ages before the fabled bad luck associated with its owners. It was discovered centuries ago in southern region of India, where it was believed to have great mystical powers that surrounded this unusual diamond of huge size and unique color, a deep indigo blue. The Hope was reportedly used to adorn the statue of a Hindu idol. In the year 1642, the famous Blue Tavernier Diamond from Europe, was in the hands of King Louis XIV who had it cut to bring out its brilliance. During the French Revolution later, the diamond was stolen. For many decades, the Hope Diamond could not be found. The blue stone, which sultans, Kings, English royalty, Jewelers and thieves had coveted had some kind of bad luck associated with them wherever they went. In 1911, the Hope diamond was bought by Ned McLean for his wife Evalyn Walsh McLean from Cartier for $185.000.00. Ned owned the Washington Post and Cincinnati Enquire newspapers. After that Harry Winston Jewelers of New York, a diamond merchant bought the Hope in 1949 from the estate of Evalyn Walsh McLean. In 1958, the Hope was finally dispatched to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Today, the general public can see the Hope Diamond. It is the most sought after exhibit in the world and the most valuable stone in the world. Worth a quarter of a billion dollars. ($250,000,000.00).
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