The world’s most expensive diamonds are some of the rarest and most beautiful gems on Earth. Here is a list of the 10 most expensive diamonds as of 2022:
1. The Hope Diamond – $250 million
2. The Pink Star – $150 million
3. The Blue Moon of Josephine – $140 million
4. The Graff Pink – $46 million
5. The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond – $80 million
6. The Oppenheimer Blue – $58 million
7. The Centenary Diamond – $100 million
8. The Cullinan I – $40 million
9. The Koh-i-Noor Diamond – $106 million
10. The Sancy Diamond – $25 million
The Hope
A French traveler named Jean Baptiste Tavernier bought a 112-carat diamond that became known as the Hope. It is thought to have been discovered in the same Golconda mine as the Koh-i-Noor. In his reports, Tavernier characterized the violet hue of the diamond as “wonderful.” Tavernier sold it to King Louis XIV, and through the years, it became known as the “Blue Diamond of the Crown.” However, the diamond was stolen in 1792 and subsequently resurfaced in London in 1812. The diamond weighs 45 carats and is estimated to be worth $200-$350 million.
The Cullinan
The Cullinan diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905, initially weighed 3,106 carats, making it the biggest raw diamond in history. It is presently a combination of 105 gems of various weights and cuts. The Cullinan, among the world’s most spectacular diamonds, was named for the mine’s chairman, Thomas Cullinan. The stone would’ve been worth an estimated $400 million on the present market. In addition to lesser cuts, nine massive fragments of the diamond weigh around 1,055 carats.
Koh-I-Noor
Koh-I-Noor means “Mountain of Light,” and the diamond is believed to be the most renowned and valuable diamond in the world. Initially weighing 793 carats, the diamond has been shaped and polished into its current shape of 105.6 carats over generations. It is usually believed that the diamond was mined in India’s Golconda region during the rule of the Kakatiya kingdom (11th to 12th centuries). Later, the Mughals acquired possession of it. When Nader Shah of Persia attacked Delhi after defeating Muhammad Shah, he captured the diamond together with the Peacock Throne it was set on. The Sikh king Maharaja Ranjit Singh acquired the diamond in 1813 before falling into the custody of the British. The gem has remained a property of the British royal family since the 19th century. It is positioned near the front of the crown worn by Queen Elizabeth.
De Beers Centenary
After its discovery in South Africa in 1986, the De Beers Centenary Diamond was announced at the company’s 100th-anniversary celebrations in Kimberley two years later. This is how it received its name, Centennial. This was one of the world’s largest top-color diamonds, weighing 599 carats. In 1991, when it was shown publicly, it was the largest known colorless modern-cut diamond. The Centenary has never been appraised. However, it was insured for $100 million prior to its 1991 debut. Since no one knows who holds the gem, its current whereabouts remain unknown.
CTF Pink Star Diamond
The oval-shaped, internally flawless diamond is the greatest vivid pink diamond in the world. Although the precise site is uncertain, De Beers mined it in Africa in 1999. At the time, the stone weighed 132.5 carats. The Steinmetz Group spent nearly two years cutting and polishing it into a 59.60-carat diamond. In 2003, it was initially exhibited publicly in Monaco. It was renowned as the Steinmetz Pink diamond at the time. In April of 2017, the Pink Star was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong for $71.2 million to Chow Tai Fook, a local jewelry manufacturer. To honor his father, the owner of the jewelry nicknamed it CTF Pink Star. It has been the most costly diamond sold at auction to date.
Oppenheimer Blue Diamond
Prior to the CTF Pink Star, the Oppenheimer Blue was the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction, fetching $57.5 million in the 2016 Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale. The fancy deep blue diamond weighing 14.62 carats was named for its owner, Sir Philip Oppenheimer, whose family originally controlled the De Beers Mining Company. Only 10% of all blue diamonds are greater than one carat, making it an incredibly uncommon gem.
Blue Moon Of Josephine
In 2014, Petra Diamonds in South Africa unearthed the diamond as a 29.6-carat rough cut in the Cullinan mine. Petra sold the diamond to Cora International, which gave it its current form. At a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in November 2015, the intensely blue diamond sold for $48.4 million. At the time, the 12.03-carat diamond was the most expensive auction item ever sold. Joseph Lau, a billionaire, purchased the Blue Moon diamond, as it was known at the time, as a gift for his daughter. After her, he renamed it “Blue Moon of Josephine.”
Graff Pink
The Graff Pink diamond was most recently sold for $46.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2010, making it the most expensive diamond sale at auction at the time. It is named for its current owner, Graff Diamonds’ Laurence Graff. After Graff obtained the diamond, his team worked to enhance its appearance further. The Graff Pink is now a 23.88-carat Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond. Already unique due to its hue and size, the diamond became much rarer.
