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1. The Cullinan Diamond. The world's biggest diamond is the Cullinan Diamond, discovered in the Premier Mine in South Africa in 1905.
The most expensive diamond in the world is owned by the British Royal Crown. The Kohinoor gem currently resides at the HM Tower of London where it is displayed as the central diamond of the Queen Mother's Crown.
Although most black diamonds on the market today are either superheated or irradiated to an almost black color, natural black diamonds do exist, though they are extremely rare. Carbonados, sometimes called "black diamonds," are a distinct and unusual polycrystalline diamond material.
Arguably, fancy blue diamonds are the second rarest diamonds on the market. Comprising only 1% of all the mined colored diamonds in the world, blue diamonds are often associated with royalty. The color grading ranges from a very faint blue to a fancy vivid blue.
Gem-quality rubies are significantly rarer than diamonds, though there are certain types of diamonds that are very rare too. If we weigh the most spectacular examples of rubies and diamonds against one another, diamonds that show color are even rarer.
Red diamonds are the rarest of the colored diamonds, with only 20-30 existing in the entire world. They get their beautiful red color from a rare process during their formation, which changes the crystal structure of the diamond and causes light to pass through it differently than colorless diamonds.
The Golden Jubilee diamond
In 1997, the diamond was presented to the King of Thailand after it took specialists a few years to cut and polish. Today, the largest finished diamond is owned by the Royal Family of Thailand.
#1 - The Hope Diamond
Probably the most well-known of all gems, the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond has a past as colourful as the stone itself. The stone's story as we know it begins in 1642, when a French merchant purchased it and then resold it a few years later to King Louis XIV of France.
Widely considered the most famous diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond receives its name from Henry Thomas Hope and was discovered centuries ago in the southern region of India. Long before the fabled bad luck associated with its owners, the Hope Diamond has an illustrious history.
Known by awed gemologists simply as “the Blue,” the world's biggest blue diamond first vanished in a jewel heist during the turmoil of revolutionary Paris in 1792. Since then, it has resurfaced and disappeared several times around Europe and across the Atlantic.
The crown contains 2,868 diamonds, including the famous cushion cut, 317.4 carat Cullinan II diamond, also known as the Second Star of Africa, the second largest stone cut from the Cullinan Diamond.
The magnificent Cullinan Diamond – the largest diamond ever found- is incorporated into the Crown Jewels. The stone was discovered near Pretoria in modern -day South Africa in 1905, and is named after the chairman of the mining company, Thomas Cullinan.
It's exceptionally rare to be able to source a fancy gray diamond, but the variety of colors and unique patterns present in salt and pepper diamonds more than makes up for that.
Only a few pure purple diamonds are found in the world each year. Purple diamonds have been found in South Africa. Two mines in Russia, Yakutia and Arkhangelsk, have also produced a small number of diamonds with purple as their dominant hue. The Argyle Mine of Australia is one of the only sources of violet diamonds.
Brown diamonds are generally the least expensive of natural fancy colors. As with colored stones in general, color is paramount for fancy colored diamond pricing. Other quality factors like clarity and cut do not affect prices as much as with colorless diamonds.
On the whole, opals are rarer than diamonds because there are less high-quality opals available than there are diamonds. The good news is that you can find a gem-quality opal for a great price, especially compared to a diamond.
In 1981, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) declared ammolite a new organic gem. Occurring in limited deposits in the Rocky Mountains, this gem material is much rarer than diamond. Ammolite is made of the aragonite shells of marine mollusks more than 65 million years old, which display bright, iridescent colors.
The Hope Diamond
Arguably the most famous and most cursed precious gemstone in history, this 45.52-carat sparkler has a long and storied past. The Hope Diamond has been blamed for a laundry list of tragedies, including but not limited to: beatings, stabbings, murder, insanity, and suicide.
Did you know that diamonds come in every color of the rainbow? Ocean blue, foliage green, sunshine yellow, earthy champagne and jet black colored diamonds, paired with brilliant white diamonds make for very interesting and exciting jewelry designs. Colored diamonds are a growing trend in the jewelry industry.
Over its 350-year history, the Hope Diamond has become one of the most famous cursed diamonds. After being stolen and recut, it is said to have contributed to the downfall and death of its owners. Discovered in India in 1673, it was originally a 115-carat blue diamond.
The centrepiece of the British monarchy's crown jewels is St Edward's crown. Owing to its historical significance it is considered priceless, and therefore cannot be insured.