World Famous Diamonds 1

Jul 31
07:09

2008

David Cowley

David Cowley

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The first recorded history of the Agra Diamond in 1526 when Babur the first Mogul emperor was reported to have received the diamond from the family of the slain Raja of Agar. Many stories surround the diamond from the mid 1500 to 1891 including one story where a horse was forced to swallow the diamond so it could be smuggled out of India to England. None of the stories can be validated until 1891 when the diamond was documented to be in the position of Edwin Streeter.

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The first recorded history of the Agra Diamond in 1526 when Babur the first Mogul emperor was reported to have received the diamond from the family of the slain Raja of Agar.  Many stories surround the diamond from the mid 1500 to 1891 including one story where a horse was forced to swallow the diamond so it could be smuggled out of India to England.  None of the stories can be validated until 1891 when the diamond was documented to be in the position of Edwin Streeter.

Today the Agra Diamond has been graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 28.15 carats. It was last sold for about $6,900.000 to the SIBA Corporation of Hong Kong.

Ahmadabad

The Ahmadabad Diamond is named after the capitol of the Indian State of Gujarat and it is believed to have been purchased by a French gem merchant called Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the 1600s.  The Ahmadabad Diamond has been graded by the GIA a D-color and weighs 78.86 carats,World Famous Diamonds 1 Articles and is cut in an antique-pear shape.  It was purchased in1995 by Robert Mouawad, for $4,324,554.

Allnatt

This 101.29-carat cushion cut its color having been certified by the GIA as Fancy Vivid Yellow, VS2 clarity, is named after its former owner, Alfred Ernest Allnatt.

The American Star

The EightStar company of California wanted to prove that optical perfection of the round brilliant diamonds could be obtained by using an exclusive light-tracking instrument called a FireScope which allows a diamond cutter to align facets so precisely that the flow of light into and out of a diamonds can be completely controlled.  In 2001 this diamond was slowly cut from 14.89 to 13.42 carats over a six-week period.  The key to a beautiful diamond is by cutting the diamond for maximum light output and not size and in the case of the American Star this was achieved.

The Amsterdam - No Picture

The Amsterdam is reported to be a synthetic black diamond weighing 33.74 carats and is completely black.  It was sold in 2001 for $352.000 setting a world record for the highest price paid for a black diamond.

The Archduke Joseph

Named after the Archduke Joseph August of the Hapsburg dynasty is a 76.45 carat diamond from  India. It was sold in Geneva in November of 1993, for $6,487,945.

The Arcots

Named after the town of Arcots the diamonds were reported to have been given to Queen Charlotte in 1777 by Nawab of Arcot.  The largest was 38.6 carats and was re-cut in 1959 to 30.99 carats and the smaller was re-cut to 18.85 carats to gain greater clarity and brilliance.  They largest of the Arcots was set in a pendant and later sold in 1993 to Sheik Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi, the Saudi Arabian dealer.

The Ashberg - No Picture

It is believed to be of amber-color and cushion shaped weighing about 102.48 carats.  It is reported to have been part of the Russian Crown Jewels.  In 1959 it was sold to a private buyer whose name was not revealed.  It went on auction again in 1981 but the diamond failed to reach its reserve price and was withdrawn.