The Most Famous Diamonds, Pt. 2

The Taylor-Burton
69.42-carat

One of the most famous of all "Glamour Gems", Harry Winston cut this pear-shaped D-flawless diamond from a 241-carat piece of rough found in 1966 at the Premier Mine in South Africa. He sold the stone to Mrs. Paul Annenberg Ames in 1967. In 1968, the stone was sold by auction in New York, and resold the following day to Richard Burton for his wife Elizabeth Taylor.

Now In the pendant shown above the stone was originally set in what Taylor called "A dreadfully heavy ring..." The famous stone was even the centerpiece of a classic bit between Taylor and comedy legend Lucille Ball. On Ms. Ball's latter day series Here's Lucy in an episode titled "Lucy Meets The Burtons", America's Favourite Redhead gets the huge gem stuck on her finger and must hide behind a curtain with her arm through Ms. Taylor's sleeve as she presents the ring at a reception she and Richard Burton are holding. In one hilarious moment, Lucy vigorously dusts the ring across Ms. Taylor's gown then holds her hand directly in Taylor's face so she can do the classic blow on it to make it shine moment.

In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor announced that she was putting it up for sale and planned to use part of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana. Just to inspect the diamond, prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 to cover the cost of showing it. In June 1979, it was sold for nearly $3 million and was last reported to be in Saudi Arabia.

The Idol's Eye
70.2 carats

A flattened pear shaped stone the size of a bantam's egg. This gem was another famous diamond that was once set in the eye of an idol before it was stolen. Legend also had it that it was given as a ransom for Princess Rasheetah by the Sheik of Kashmir to the Sultan of Turkey who had abducted her.

The Star Of The East
94.80 carats

The history of this D-color pear-shape starts in the mid seventeenth century, when French gem merchant Tavernier purchased a 157 carat rough diamond known as the Ahmedabad. The stone cut from the Ahmedabad appeared in the possession of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire. During the period of unrest that preceded the Young Turk's rebellion in 1909, The Star of the East together with the Hope appeared in Paris for sale.

In 1908 a German newspaper published a photograph of a fabulous diamond necklace owned by the Gaekwar of Baroda with the Star of the East as the central stone.

The newly wed Evalyn Walsh McLean on her honeymoon purchased the diamond in 1908. She used all her "pin money" and some of her husband's fortune to meet the $120,000 purchase price. Harry Winston purchased it from her estate in 1949.

The Great Chrysanthemum
104.15 carats

This pear-shaped diamond was cut from a 198.28 carat brown rough supposedly found in South Africa in 1963. Julius Cohen, a New York City dealer, bought the rough and had it cut to reveal the diamond's rich golden-brown, chrysanthemum-like color. In 1971, the diamond was exhibited at the Kimberly Centenary Exhibition in South Africa. The diamond also was shown in the Diamonds-International Academy Collection at the Diamond Pavilion in Johannesburg in 1965. Recently, Julius Cohen sold the GREAT CHRYSANTHEMUM to an undisclosed foreign buyer.

The Portuguese
127.01 carats

This emerald-cut diamond is believed to have belonged to the Portuguese royal family. The stone was discovered in Kimberley in 1912. Harry Winston purchased the diamond from Peggy Hopkins Joyce in 1951.

The stone was part of the "Court of Jewels," an exhibition coordinated by Harry Winston, which toured the United States from 1949 to 1953. In 1963, Mr. Winston gave it to the Smithsonian Institution.

The Niarchos
128.25 carats

Harry Winston bought this blue-white flawless pear shape in 1956 as part of an $8.4 million parcel. Winston sold it in 1957 to Stavros Niarchos, the Greek shipping magnate, who gave the diamond its name.

The Tiffany
5125 carats

The largest golden diamond known today is cut in a unique cushion shape. It was given 90: facets, 32 more than the standard brilliant cut, and these extra facets give the great yellow diamond the effect of smoldering fire. You can see this fabulous stone at Tiffany's™ in New York City.