Kohinoor

“KOHINOOR “THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT”
The gem was originally discovered in the mines of golconda. The first reported owner was mahlak deo, the raja of malwa. According to history, raja bikramajit possessed the great gem. Gwalior sent all his jewels to fort of agra for security purpose during the battle of panipat in 1526. Eventually the first mugal emperor suceeded in invading the fort and acquired the diamond originally weighing 186 carats. Thereafter, the diamond came to be known as babur’s diamond. The reference of the diamond can be found in babur nama (the memories of the mughal emperor babur). The diamond was later passed on to sucessor rulers over next two centuries till it was inherited by mohammed shah. At this time, a powerful pesian ruler named nadir shah was rapidly streching his boundaries conquered delhi and made mohammed shah his prisoner and seized vast collection of jewels but the diamond was nowhere to be found. After few frustrating days nadir shah was told by one of the emperor's harem women that the stone was hidden in the emperor's turban. On hearing this nadir shah devised a plan to acquire the gem. He invited mohammed shah to a feast and proposed an exchange of turban it the ceremony of friendship and brotherhood. Mohammed shah was unable to refuse this courtesy, he gracefully handedover his turban to nadir shah. Hence nadir shah exclaimed the diamond and named it as koh – i – noor (mountain of light). In 1747, nadir shah was killed in his sleep by his people. The next ruler of persian throne was shah rukh mirza, nadir shah’s fourteen year old grandson who inherit grandfather’s diamond. He presented the kohinoor to ahmad abdali, an afghan and bravest general and supporter for his assistance during the hard times. Ahmad abdali carried the stone to afghanistan. After he died, his son timur became the ruler who on his demise left twenty three sons to compete for the throne. After years of fights between brothers, the eldest son zaman shah and his brother shah shuja escaped to lahore and sought refuge with the sikh ruler, maharaja ranjit singh. Shah shuja managed to conceal the diamond. Ranjit singh was aware of the diamond and asked him for the gem as a payment for protection him and his family. Eventually ranjit singh managed to extort the diamond in 1813. He mounted kohinoor in an armlet between two smaller diamonds and wore it with great pride.

In 1843, duleep singh, twelve year old minor became the new maharaja. In 1949, after two sikh wars, british annexed punjab. Duleep singh had to sign treaty of lahore which was presented by lord dalhousie which also included a clause which stated that kohinoor must be handed over to queen of england.

On july 3, 1850, kohinoor was presented to queen victoria at buckingham palace. Due to lack of luster queen was disappointed and ordered for recut of the gem to voorzanger, a cutter of the reputed dutch firm coster. The result was an oval brilliant weighing 105.60 carats. The gem was worn by queen victoria which was reset in a circlet. In 1902, it was set again in the imperial crown for her daughter-in-law queen alexandra and in 1911 again for queen mary’s coronation in an ornament called queen mary’s crown. In 1937, the diamond was premier jewel in coronation crown made for queen elizabeth and she still enjoys wearing on occasions. Tradition associates with states that owner of kohinoor will rule the world. There is a belief that it is dangerous for a man to wear kohinoor but women can wear it gracefully.

After independence both india and pakisthan made attempts requesting british government to return kohinoor, but in vain. Britian assured that the diamond would not be given to any country since the history of the gem was unclear. Today, britian endorses its ownership of the diamond inviting the public to view kohinoor at the jewel house in tower of london, where it is displayed as a symbol of british national heritage.

Hope

The Hope Diamond

The Hope diamond was unearthed in kollur mines of Golconda, India. According to the Legend has it the diamond came from the eye of an idol in a temple on the coleroon River in India. If that is so, one can only conjecture that the eye must have had a mate, but the fate of "the other eye" has never come to light. It would not be the first famous diamond that started it's notoriety in a religious idol. The Idol's Eye and the Orlov both came from idols, according to legend. The history of the stone which was eventually named the Hope diamond began when the French merchant traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a 110.50 carat diamond. This diamond was somewhat triangular in shape and crudely cut. Its color was described by Tavernier as a "Rare Blue." Tavernier the first known owner of the controversial hope was killed by wild dogs.

Tavernier sold the diamond to King Louis XIV of France in 1668 with 14 other large diamonds and several smaller ones. In 1673 the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting in a 67.12 carat, heart shaped stone. In the royal inventories, its color was described as an intense steely-blue and the stone became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," or the "French Blue." It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the king wore on ceremonial occasions.

King Louis XV France, in 1749, had the stone reset by court jeweler Andre Jacquemin, in a piece of ceremonial jewelry for the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison D'Or). In 1791, after an attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee France, the jewels of the French Royal Treasury were turned over to the government.

During the French Revolution, the crown jewels (including the blue diamond) were taken from the royal couple after they attempted to flee France in 1791. The jewels were placed in the Garde-Meuble but were not well guarded.
From September 12 to September 16, 1792, the Garde-Meuble was repeatedly robbed, without notice from officials until September 17. Though most of the crown jewels were soon recovered, the blue diamond was not.
In 1812 a deep blue diamond described by John Francillion as weighing 177 grains (4 grains = 1 carat) was documented as being in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason. Strong evidence indicates that the stone was the recut French Blue and the same stone known today as the Hope Diamond. Several references suggest that it was acquired by King George IV of England. At his death, in 1830, the king's debts were so enormous that the blue diamond was likely sold through private channels.
The first reference to the diamond's next owner is found in the 1839 entry of the gem collection catalog of the well-known Henry Philip Hope, the man from whom the diamond takes its name. Unfortunately, the catalog does not reveal where or from whom Hope acquired the diamond or how much he paid for it.

Following the death of Henry Philip Hope in 1839, and after much litigation, the diamond passed to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope and ultimately to the nephew's grandson Lord Francis Hope. In 1901 Lord Francis Hope obtained permission from the Court of Chancery and his sisters to sell the stone to help pay off his debts. It was sold to a London dealer who quickly sold it to Simon Frankel from the firm Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who retained the stone in New York until they, in turn, needed cash. The diamond was next sold to Salomon Habib, an agent representating Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of Turkey. His subjects called him Abdul the Damned and did not take lightly to his despotic rule. He squeezed $450,000 out of his subjects and paid the sum to a syndicate of diamond dealers. Then he gave the diamond to Subaya, one of the four wives and 233 concubines who shared his harem. She wore the diamond well, but not well enough, and started palace intrigue against the Sultan, who found out and had her executed. One day, Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean attended a Turkish Court function and saw the famous blue diamond. She longed to possess it.

The Hope was in market once again and this time it was brought by Parisian merchant C.H. Rosenau and then resold to Pierre Cartier that same year.
An interesting illustration of the medallion setting the Hope was in before the platinum
and diamond necklace setting (made by Cartier around 1910).

On holiday in Paris in 1910, Evalyn and her husband Ned were at the Hotel Bristol receiving a visit from the Prince of Jewelers himself, Pierre Cartier . Hope diamond was shown to Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean, of Washington D.C., at Cartier's in Paris, but she did not like the setting. Pierre Cartier had the diamond reset and took it to the U.S. where he left it with Mrs. McLean for a weekend. This strategy was successful. The sale was made in 1911 with the diamond mounted as a headpiece on a three-tiered circlet of large white diamonds. The deal closes at $180,000; Cartier's elaborate sales pitch has worked .Sometime later it became the pendant on a diamond necklace as we know it today. She thought that the diamond was unlucky for everybody else would be lucky for her, because she was an exception. According to Smithsonian Curator, Jeffrey Post: "She lived a flamboyant lifestyle. She liked being in the spotlight, and the Hope Diamond was one way of keeping her in the spotlight.
Evalyn makes her appearances in the latest Paris fashions, and always she wears the Hope Diamond. "Well, she had such a strong identification with the diamond," says Conroy. The diamond was the way

she portrayed herself to the world.
In Washington entertaining can be an expensive proposition, even for a millionairess. "She hocked the diamond a number of times," adds Conroy, "because she was always running out of money. She was not one to manage her money. She just wanted to live in a certain way and that's what it cost. She was not the world's most practical person, but she meant well."
Evalyn tries to make her good luck charm work for the good of others, but it can't keep tragedy from her own back door. At the age of nine, her adored first-born son, Vinson, is killed in an automobile accident.
Her husband Ned,

runs off with another woman and dissipates their fortune. A chronic alcoholic, he eventually dies in a sanatorium. Their family newspaper, the Washington Post goes bankrupt and Evalyn is forced to sell some of her properties. Then, in 1946, Evalyn's daughter dies of an overdose of sleeping pills at the age of twenty-five. With each misfortune, rumors of the Hope Diamond's curse resume.
In 1947, Evalyn Walsh McLean dies. Her collection of jewelry, including the prized blue diamond, is sold to pay the debts of her estate.
Harry Winston Inc. of New York City purchased Mrs. McLean's entire jewelry collection, including the Hope diamond, from her estate in 1949. This collection also included the 94.8-carat Star of the East diamond, the 15-carat Star of the South diamond, a 9-carat green diamond, and a 31-carat diamond which is now called the McLean diamond.
For the next 10 years the Hope diamond was shown at many exhibits and charitable events world wide by Harry Winston Inc., including as the central attraction of their Court of Jewels exhibition. On November 10, 1958, they donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, and almost immediately the great blue stone became its premier attraction.
The Hope diamond has left the Smithsonian only four times since it was donated. In 1962 it was exhibited for a month at the Louvre in Paris, France, as part of an exhibit entitled Ten Centuries of French Jewelry. In 1965 the Hope diamond traveled to South Africa where it was exhibited at the Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg. In 1984 the diamond was lent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York, as part of the firm's 50th anniversary celebration. In 1996 the Hope diamond was again sent to Harry Winston Inc., in New York, this time for cleaning and some minor restoration work.

The weight of the Hope diamond for many years was reported to be 44.5 carats. In 1974 it was removed from its setting and found actually to weigh 45.52 carats. It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which are semiconductive and usually phosphoresce. The Hope diamond phosphoresces a strong red color, which will last for several seconds after exposure to short wave ultra-violet light. The diamond's blue coloration is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the stone.

In the pendant surrounding the Hope diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shapes and cushion cuts. A bail is soldered to the pendant where Mrs. McLean would often attach other diamonds including the McLean diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds. Today the diamond resides in the museum's Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, revolving sedately behind three inches of bullet proof glass in the new Harry Winston Room.

Orlov

The Orlov

The Imperial Sceptre, viewed from straight-on. The Orlov is surrounded by a row of small Old Mine cut diamonds.

Orlov assumed to have unearthed from Golconda. It is estimated to have 180 facets.The earliest known fact about the Orlov is that it was set as one of the eyes of an idol of Ranganatha (another name of hindu god vishnu) in a sacred temple. This temple is situated in Srirangam, near Tiruchirappalli in South India.

A French soldier, who deserted and found employment in the neighborhood of Srirangem, learned that the temple contained the celebrated idol of a Hindu god, the eyes of which formed by two large diamonds of inestimable value. Thereupon he made a plan to seize the gems, a feat which necessitated years rather than months of planning, since no Christian was ever admitted beyond the fourth of the seven enclosures. So he embraced the Hindu faith and eventually obtained employment within the walls of the temple. By degrees he gained the confidence of the unsuspecting Brahmins and was allowed in as a frequent worshipper at the inner shrine, because of his apparent veneration for this particular divinity. Ultimately, he secured the appointment of guardian to the innermost shrine within which lay the object of his attention.

Then came the moment for which the Frenchman had waited so long, a stormy night that masked the idol in fitful shadows. He laid his sacrilegious hands upon the deity entrusted to his care and prized one of the diamond eyes out of its socket. Losing courage, he then fled the scene leaving the other diamond behind. He scaled the walls of the temple, swam the river and escaped into the surrounding jungle to the comparative safety of the English army encamped at Trichinopoly, and all the while the tempest raged. Finally, he made his way to Madras, where he sold the diamond for £2000 to an English sea captain who brought it to London and sold it to a Jewish merchant for £12,000. The merchant, in turn, is said to have sold it to an Armenian by the name of Khojeh Raphael, who had left Persia as a young man, sailed to Surat and then travelled by sea to England and then to Russia, passing through Amsterdam.

The real point of interest concerns the identity of the second diamond in the idol. Which diamond could possibly have been set as the eye? Was it Kohinoor? Or was it some other stone? No one really knows.

Another version of the Orlov's journey to Europe is even more lurid. This account begins with the diamond belonging to the Mogul rulers and being amongst the loot carried off from Delhi by the Persians under Nadir Shah. Shortly after Nadir Shah had been murdered in 1747 by an Afghan soldier. The Afghan brought with him many other expensive jewels as well as the diamond all of which he offered to an Armenian merchant named Grigori Safras, then residing with his two brothers in Bassorah. Safras was astonished at such a valuable hoard in the hands of a poor soldier who was obviously unaware of its true value. He was obliged to postpone the chance of doing business with the soldier in order to find sufficient funds. In the mean time, the Afghan became suspicious of the merchant's delay and, believing that a trap was being laid for him, disappeared from the city as mysteriously as he had entered.

The soldier made his way to Baghdad where he met a Jewish trader to whom he sold his treasures for about £500 and two fine Arab horses. But instead of returning home, he proceeded to squander his newly acquired riches in a bout of dissipation. Unfortunately, in the middle of his revels he met up again with Safras who this time determined not to lose site of the man. Disappointed to learn that the Afghan had sold his treasure, however, he was able to learn the whereabouts of the trader's residence, and lost no time in calling on him. Safras offered the merchant twice the amount he had paid for the diamond but the trader was unwilling to part with it. Thereupon Safras had consulted his two brothers who had joined him in Baghdad; they decided to acquire the diamond by foul means. Having successfully accomplished this, it became obvious that the Afghan would also need to be disposed of, because his evidence would incriminate the brothers. So, taking advantage of his liking for riotous living, they induced him to join them the next day for a bout of drinking during the course of which they administered poison. The bodies of the Jewish trader and Afghan soldier were placed together in a sack and thrown by night into the River Tigris.

The slaughter had not yet finished. Events had run smoothly for the murderers up to that point, but when it came time to the distribution of the plunder, each of the three brothers insisted on having the diamond. As it was impossible to divide the gem into three equal parts, and as neither of his brothers was prepared to waive his claim, the wicked Safras treated them in exactly the same way that they had treated their unfortunate victims. He states that after setting up in Amsterdam as a dealer, Safras drew the attention of certain European rulers, among them Catherine the Great of Russia, to his jewels. The Empress was apparently much taken by the description of the Armenian's great diamond, and invited Safras to her capital, St. Petersburg, where she put him in touch with the Court jeweler, I.L. Lazarev. Negotiations broke down over an agreed price for the gem, the amount being requested by Safras considered exorbitant. However, Count Panin, the favorite minister of the Empress at the time, proved equal to the occasion and ultimately showed himself more than a match for the astute Armenian. The demands of Safras were neither agreed to nor rejected; instead he was gradually led into a style of living with proved beyond his means, with the result that he ran heavily into debt. When his means were exhausted, Panin abruptly terminated the negotiations and informed Safras that he could not leave Russia, or even St. Petersburg, until all his creditors had been paid. Safras was thus at the mercy of the minister; nevertheless he was determined not to sacrifice his diamond and he succeded in raising enough money to settle his outstanding debts by selling other gems among the Armenian community in St. Petersburg. Thereupon he withdrew from the Russian capital. A few years later the Russian Court learned that Safras was residing in Astrakhan and negotiations were reopened for the sale of the diamond, which he was induced to part with, apparently on the original terms. However, at this point in the diamond's history there is yet more confusion. It has always been thought that the diamond's much travelled purchaser bought the gem in Amsterdam; there were reports in the London press to that effect. So the conclusion to be drawn is that the business was not successfully completed in Astrakhan - Count Orlov had to travel to Amsterdam to finalize the arrangements. By this time the gem had become known as the Amsterdam Diamond.

Count Grigorievich Orlov (1723-83) was a Russian nobleman and an army officer of great distinction. He was wounded no less than three times during the various campaigns of the Seven Years War. On one occasion he was detailed to escort an important Prussian officer as a prisoner-of-war to St. Petersburg where in 1759 he was presented to the Grand Duke Peter and his consort, Catherine. Leading a riotous life in the capital, he caught the fancy of the Grand Duchess and became her lover. After the accession of Catherine's husband to the throne as Peter III, Orlov and his younger brother, Count Aleksei Grigorievich, organized the coup of July, 1762 whereby the weak Peter III was dethroned in favor of Catherine and then murdered.

Catherine appointed her lover adjutant-general, director-general of engineers and general-in-chief, but Count Panin, who was her political mentor, frustrated the intention of the Empress to marry Orlov. Continuing to serve Catherine in various capacities, Orlov became deeply resently when she took Aleksander Vassilchikov, then Grigori Potemkin, as lovers in his place. He left Russia in 1775.

Two years earlier Orlov had visited Amsterdam where he came to learn of the existence of Safras' great diamond. He bought it for a sum reputed to have been 1,400,000 florins, equivalent to 400,000 roubles. Such a purchase, doubtless, would have been made both to remind Catherine of the role which Orlov had played in her accession to the throne and hopefully to restore himself in her favor. This possibility appeared even stronger at the time, because Catherine herself had refused to accept Safras' original asking price for the diamond to the Empress on her Saint's Day; she accepted it and had it set in the Imperial Sceptre, designed by Troitnoki, immediately beneath the golden eagle. The Empress gave Orlov a marble palace at St. Petersburg, but she never rewarded him with his former position as her favorite. In 1777 Count Orlov married his cousin, but following her death in Lausanne in 1782, he became mentally deranged and returned to Russia to die the following year.

Interestingly, there is supposed to exist a document signed by both Orlov and Lazarev, the court jeweler at St. Petersburg, which places an entirely different interpretation upon the circumstances surrounding the former's purchase of the diamond. The Russian author suggest that the role of Count Orlov was merely that of a go-between in the transaction and that it was Catherine the Great who purchased the diamond. The Empress employed intermediaries for two reason: first, she wished to contast her own alleged 'German frugality' (she had been born a German princess) with the reckless spending habits of her predecessors, and secondly, she considered that it would not have been proper for a monarch to bargain over the purchase price - something which Orlov himself could do. And it was for this service to the Empress that Orlov earned the honor of giving his name to the diamond.

Today the Orlov is one of the greatest collection of jewels of the Russian Diamond Fund and is displayed in the Kremlin in Moscow. It looks like half a pigeon’s egg mounted at the top of the Imperial Scepter that was made for Russian empress Catherine.

Regent

The Regent

In 1701, the diamond was discovered in the deposits of river Krishna, Golconda, India by a slave weighing 410 carat (original weight). He offered to give the diamond to an English captain of a ship at a reasonable rate in exchange for his passage. The captain agreed but later killed the slave and took the possession of the diamond. The captain later sold it Thomas pitt, Governor of Fort St. George in Madras between 1698 and 1704. Hence the diamond was called The Pitt, named after him. The diamond was send for re-cut and the task was handed over to Isaac Abendana, Dutch Jew. The newly cut stone was cushion shaped and it now weighed 140.50 carats. Pitt offered the diamond to Louis XIV of France in 1714, but the King was not interested to purchase the gem. The next year Louis XV succeeded his great-grand father to the throne. The new King was five years old, hence till 1723, Philippe II, Duke of Orleans was appointed the Regent and managed the state on behalf of the King. When Pitt offered the diamond once again to France, the Duke agreed to pay 2.5 million livres. Thus changing the name of diamond from Pitt to Regent. The diamond sparked in shoulder of Louis XV when he attended the banquet at Versailles Palace and later was set in his coronation crown.

During French Revolution of 1789, the crown jewels were taken from Versailles to Garde Meuble, a Museum. In September 1792, several historical diamonds including the Regent had been looted by the revolutionaries. After almost a year the missing Regent had re-appeared in Paris since then the diamond became a part of public treasury. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte was in power and had acquired Regent. The diamond was set in his sword. The diamond then adorned the crown of Charles X of France in 1824. It later stayed till the marriage of Charles Louis Napoleon III to Eugenie Maria in 1853. Thus, Regent has been a part of French crown jewels since the beginning of 18th Century.

Today, the Regent diamond is proudly displayed in the Galerie d’Apollon at the Louvre Museum in France.

Tiffany

The Tiffany

One of the largest yellow diamonds ever found and it was a massive 287 carats in its rough state. Found in the Kimberly mine in South Africa in 1878, famed jeweler Charles Tiffany from New York purchased it for $18,000 for his store collection. The Tiffany Diamond today is just over 128 carats after it was cut into its present cushion shape by George Kunz, a famous gemologist who worked for Charles Tiffany.

The loose Tiffany Diamond is a cushion shape of 128.54 cts. with 82 facets. It now appears in the Bird on a Rock setting, designed in the early 1960s by Jean Schlumberger. The bird is gold and platinum with white and yellow diamonds accented by a ruby eye.

The National Gem Collection, created in 1884, is recognized for its breadth of world-class precious gemstones, including the Hope Diamond. Tiffany & Co. has been an active supporter of the Smithsonian's National Gem Collection since 1983.

Great Moghul

Great Moghul Diamond
The largest diamond ever found in India. It was originally discovered in Kollur mines in Golconda in 1650, during the reign of Moghal emperor Shah Jahan. However, it is his son Aurangzeb (1658 - 1707) who is linked with the diamond. Jean-Baptiste Tanvernier, the French jeweler, in his travels in India claimed to have seen the Great Moghul in Aurangzeb’s treasury. Tanvernier wrote of  a diamond that once weighed 787.50 carats which was later terribly cut down to 280 carats by Venetian lapidary named Hortensio Borgio, in residence at Aurangzeb’s court. The Mughal emperor found Hortensio Borgio’s work unacceptable and fined him.

Shah

The diamond was unearthed in Golconda, India. An uncut diamond originally weighing 95 carats and currently 88.70 carats. The diamond has three smooth cleavage faces while the fourth one is faceted, thus resulting in weight loss.
In 1591, the diamond’s first owner Bourhan Nizam Shah II, the ruler of Ahmadnagar proudly possessed it. Later in 1636, the Kingdom was invaded by Shah Jahan and took possession of the diamond. Shah Jahan throne was succeeded by his third son Aurangzeb.  In 1665, Jean-Baptiste Tanvernier went to Aurangzeb’s palace and saw the diamond with rubies and emeralds around it. The diamond had fine groove around it and first two names of the rulers were inscribed.

After the invasion of Delhi in 1739, Nadir Shah carried away the diamond to Persia, passing from one ruler to another. In 1824, Sultan Qajar Fath Ali Shah owned the diamond. The third name to inscribe on the diamond was of the Persian ruler, Sultan Qajar Fath Ali Shah.

In 1827, a disagreement aroused between Persia and Russia. In 1838, Russia won the war and coerced Persia into signing the Treaty under the leadership of Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedoff. The Persians disliked Alexander and eventually killed him. On this action Fath Ali Shah was nervous and to avoid another war he immediately send the Shah diamond to the Russian ruler, Tsar Nicholas I as a gift.

At first, Shah diamond was placed in the White Palace at St. Petersburg and the send to the Russian Diamond Fund and is on display at the Kremlin.

Nassak

The Nassak
The diamond is originated from Golconda, India. It had earlier been the eye of Lord Shiva’s Idol in one of the shrines of Nasik. The diamond was set there by Maratha chief, at this time Maratha empire began to struggle and the diamond was stolen. It finally became the property of Peshwa Bajirao II. In 1818, British fought with Peshwas and were victorious. Peshwa tried to conceal Nassak but Colonel Briggs conciscated it and surrendered it to Governor general Warren Hastings, the commander incharge. He inturn handed the diamond to East India Company. The Nassak was received by Geoge III in England who passed it to Rundell & Bridge for better faceting. Earlier the stone weighed 89 carats and after finer faceting the weight was reduced to 80.59 carats. In 1831, Nassak was brought by Emmanuel Brothers at London. Later Nassak was auctioned at Willis’s Rooms, London in 1837. The person who purchased Nassak was the first Marquess of Westminster. In 1926, second Marquess of Westminster inturn sold it to Parisian jeweler, Georges Mauboussin. In 1940, Nassak was purchased by New York jeweler firm Harry Winston. Winston re-faceted the diamond which now weighs 43.38 carats. In 1944, it was purchased to Mrs William M Leeds. She had set Nassak in the ring with two tapered baguettes.
In 1970, Nassak was once again kept for auction at the Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc in New York. It was purchased by Edward Hand of Grewenwich for the sum of $ 500,000,the second highest price ever paid for a diamond. The highest price paid ever for the diamond was by Richard Burton when he purchased Taylor-Burton diamond weighing 69.40 carats for the grand sum of $ 1.05 million.

Later, the diamond was bought jointly by Bulgari jewellery from Italy and  J & SS De Young, the Boston estate goods firm. In 1977, King of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud purchased Nassak and it was later sold Robert Mouawad of international Mouawad company. Today Mouawad owns most rare collections of historical diamonds that includes Indore Pearls, Nassak, Jubilee, Queen of Holland and Tereschenko.

Sancy

The Sancy

The Sancy diamond was found in Golconda weighing 55.23, is cut in a traditional Indian style in oval pear shape with facets on both sides. It is pure white and almost flawless.

In 1570, the stone was purchased in Constantinople by the French Ambassador to Turkey, Nicholas Harlai, the Seigneur de Sancy, who was an avid collector of gems and jewelry. He brought it to France, where Henry III, who was very sensitive about being bald, borrowed it to decorate a small cap he always wore to conceal his baldness. Sancy was a prominate figure in the French Court at the time. Henry was the vicious, vain, weak son of Catherine de Medici.

During the next reign, when Sancy was made Superintendent of Finance by Henry IV (Henry of Navarre) borrowed the gem as security for substantial loan to hire soldiers. A messenger was dispatched with the jewel but never reached his destination; thieves had followed him. Knowing that the man was loyal, Sancy made a search of him and his body was discovered, disinterred, and in the stomach of the servant the diamond was found.

Sancy sold the diamond to James I, and in 1605 Inventory of Jewels in the Tower of London. It remained in England until 1669. Charles I, son of James I, was beheaded and his widow, Queen Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry of France returned to her homeland with the box containing Sancy. According to another gem historian, the Sancy was sold under different circumstances. During the Civil War, Queen Henrietta Maria took it to the Continent and pledged it, together with other diamonds, to Duke of Epernon for 460,000 livres. In 1657, Cardinal Mazarin paid off the Duke and, with the Queen's consent, took possession of the gems and named Sancy as Mazarin I.

 In 1722 it was superbly set along with the Regent diamond in a crown made for the coronation of Louis XV. Then it became a pride property of Louis XVI. In 1792, at the beginning of the French Revolution, finally led to the execution of Louis XVI and his queen. A this time, Crown jewels were removed from palace of Versailles to Grande Meuble for safe keeping. In September 1972, the Sancy and other famous gems like Regent were stolen from the Garde Meuble (Royal Treasury) in Paris.

It reappeared in 1828 and was sold by a French merchant to Prince Nicholas Demidoff of Russia; the prince, in turn, is recorded as selling it in 1865 for $100,000. Two years later, it was displayed by the French jeweler, G. Bapst, at the Paris Exposition, bearing a price tag of FR 1,000,000 (one million francs).
The diamond was purchased by R. and S. Garrard of the Haymarket for Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, the parsi merchant in Mumbai. It was soon sold to Maharaja Bhupindra Singh of Patalia.
In 1892, the sancy was purchased by William Waldorf Astor (1st Visount Astor) as a wedding present when his son (later 2nd Viscount Astor) married Nancy Langhorne of Virginia. Lady Astor often wore the big shield-shaped gem in a tiara on state occasions.

In 1962, it was one of the features of the Ten Centuries of French Jewelry exhibition at the Louvre Museum. After Lady Astor's death in 1964, the celebrated stone was inherited by her son, the 3rd Viscount Astor. The gem is set in a mounting that permits it to be affixed to the head ornament. Eventually in 1978, the fourth Viscount Astor sold the Sancy jointly to the Banque de France and Musees de France for one million dollar.

The Sancy and Regent seem to be linked by common destiny. After been stolen from Garde Meuble on the same fateful night in September 1792, they finally meet again at Louvre Museum in Paris.

Pasha

The Pasha Of Egypt.
The Pasha Diamond of Egypt was octagonal shaped and weighed 40 carats when it was kept in the Egyptian treasury on the Nile. Forty Carats and Valued at pound 28,000--The Finest Gem in the Egyptian Treasury.
body Offer(500972) This is the finest gem in the Egyptian Treasury. It seems to have been purchased for pound 28,000 by Ibrahim Pasha. According to Mr. Emanuel, it "weighs 40 carats, is of octagonal form, and is brilliant cut, and is of very good quality and lively.
The detailed history is unknown.

Stewart

The Stewart
The Stewart diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1872 and was the fourth largest diamond recorded in the world, weighing in at 288 carats.

The subjoined account of its discovery appeared in the Port Elizabeth Telegraph of November 22, 1872:--"The claim from which this gem was taken was originally owned by a Mr. F. Pepper, by him sold to a Mr. Spalding for pound 30, and handed over by the latter to Antoine, who worked on shares.

The details of the history and its presence is not known.