Diamonds have for thousands of years captured the imaginations of the world, wars have been fought over them and legends and myths created around them. Diamonds are generally very valuable for a number of reasons, here are some of the most valuable diamonds in the world today.
One of the oldest diamonds discovered is currently owned by the royal monarchy of Britain and is kept in the Tower of London where it is a tourist attraction; it is called the Koh-l-Noor and was originally discovered in India. It was the subject of many wars over the centuries and was owned by various kingdoms and nations including Sikh, Mughal as well as Persian rulers. The diamond is 105 carat or 21 grams and measures 36x31x13 mm.
Another very famous Indian diamond is the yellow diamond known as the Sancy diamond, this diamond used to belong to the might Moguls who ruled India for centuries. The Sancy has the title of being the first diamond to ever be cut with a symmetrical shape, the diamond is kept in the Louvre museum in Paris France among the Crown Jewel Collection.
The largest so called rough gem quality diamond ever discovered in the entire world is the famous Cullinan diamond discovered in Southern Africa with a total carat weight of 3106.75 carats or 621 grams. After the Cullinan diamond was polished to a total carat weight of 530 carats or 106 grams it became known as the Star Africa diamond or Cullinan I, the Cullinan remained the largest diamond in the world until the mid 1980’s with the introduction to the world of the Golden Jubilee diamond with an impressive total carat weight of 545.67 carats or 109 grams.
Southern Africa and particularly South Africa is globally well known for producing some of the biggest diamonds in the world. The Hope Diamond is no exception to this reputation, known by many as the blue diamond because of the high content of boron traces in the diamond itself. The diamond has a total carat weight of 45.52 carats and is worth an estimated $350 million. This diamond is permanently housed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
There is only one diamond in the entire world that the Gemmological Institute of America classified as flawless, both internally and externally. This diamond is a colourless diamond and is known to the world as the De Beers Centenary Diamond, worth a whopping $10 million. It has a total carat weight o 23.85 carats or 54.77 grams. De Beers Premier Mines are responsible for some of the largest diamonds on the world, this being the third largest ever.