Move Over, Paris … For Some Really Big Diamonds

Reese Witherspoon may have been the happy recipient of a four-carat diamond from celebrity jeweler Neil Lane, Kate Hudson, a five-carat, J. Lo, a much talked-about and emulated pink diamond of six carats, Catherine Zeta-Jones, a hefty ten, and Paris Hilton, with her usual penchant for excess, an almost unwearable 24-carat diamond ring.

And yet, notwithstanding the possible exception of Paris, these Hollywood newcomers have nothing over royals when it comes to their glittering rocks.

Here are some of the world’s most famous (and weightiest) diamonds. Using the “two months of salary” guideline, perhaps only Bill Gates or JK Rowling qualify to put these on anyone’s finger.

Although it isn’t the largest, the Hope diamond is one of the best-known diamonds across the world. On display at the Smithsonian, this shockingly blue stone of 45.52 carats is a subject of many dark legends and tales of ill fortune. There must have been some force behind these legends, because the diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. (Perhaps the lack of a single owner has blunted its ability to cause foul play.) Presently, the Hope is a graceful cushion-cut gem, but originally it was in an enormous 115-carat stone belonging to Louis XIV of France, which mysteriously disappeared during the French Revolution.

Like the Hope diamond, the Dresden Green is a beautifully-hued stone originating in the mines of India. Weighing in at 40.70 carats, it’s the world’s largest green diamond. Originally purchased at the bargain price of $150,000, it then changed hands between the Germans and the Russians after World War II, but the beautiful Dresden is back in the city that bears its name. Its apple-green coloring and elaborate setting make this diamond unforgettably romantic, but sadly, it’s not for sale.

The Pink Condé is a beautiful rose-colored, pear-shaped specimen surrounded by a jaunty medallion of smaller white diamonds. Louis XIII of France gave it to the Prince of Condé in return for services rendered during the war. The practical prince stuck the gem to the top of his walking stick.

The Tiffany Yellow, discovered in South Africa by the glamorous jeweler it’s named for, is a gorgeous octahedron that in its rough form weighed a mind-blowing 287.42 carats. Even after cutting, the Tiffany boasts a weight of 128.54 carats. Forever associated in our minds with Audrey Hepburn, the Tiffany Yellow is now set in the whimsical “Bird on the Rock” brooch. Until recently it was thought to be the largest golden-yellow diamond in the world.

Much like the Hope diamond, the Koh-I-Noor is a monstrous stone (105.60 carats) that’s thought to once have been part of an even larger diamond. We first hear of it in 1304, and the Kohinoor is rumored to have been one of the eyes in the famous peacock throne of Shah Jehan. Like the Hope diamonders, the Kohinoor is linked with stories of misfortune, revolutions, luckless dynasties and other tales of illness and death, although Queens Elizabeth and Victoria owned it without coming to apparent harm.

The story of the Agra diamond begins with the Mogul emperors of India in 1526. A naturally-colored diamond originally listed as Fancy Light Pink, the Agra weighed 32.34 carats. Its relative small size led it to hit the marketplace in 1990, when it was sold to a Hong Kong corporation for almost 7 million. Since then, the Agra has been recut into a slightly smaller cushion-shape diamond weighing 28.15 carats, and sporting a deeper pink hue.

The Transvaal Blue, a 25 carat pear-cut diamond found in the Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa, is shrouded in mystery, and it currently belongs to a mystery owner.

The Great Chrysanthemum is a “Fancy Brown” diamond with a rich golden hue, and overtones of sienna and burnt orange. Found in the summer of 1963 in a South African diamond field, this 104.15 carat diamond with an elegant pear-shaped cut last appeared in an elaborate gold and diamond setting. After touring the world and winning a Diamond International award, it was sold to an unknown overseas buyer.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped jewel of 69.42 carats. It’s also known as the Cartier diamond, since Cartier of New York bought it at auction in 1969, selling it the next day to a romantically enterprising Richard Burton. Never one to underestimate the power of marketing, he promptly renamed it the “Taylor-Burton.” But alas, lovely Liz put the diamond up for sale nine years later, charging each viewer $2,500 to cover the costs of security and insurance. In 1979, she sold the Taylor-Burton to a New York jeweler for almost $3 million, who then promptly passed it on to world-famous Lebanese diamond dealer Robert Mouawad.