<p>Diamonds carry in their lustre a bagful of clichés — ‘a woman’s best friend’ and ‘diamonds are forever’ are two of them. What is striking and yet, strangely, not part of the popular lore is that each diamond is unique. If you are wearing one, you can give a name to it, for there isn’t another one exactly like it in the whole world.<br /><br /></p>.<p>This is one reason why most of the famous diamonds of the world are known by their names, much like you and me. Polar Star, Great Mogul, Dresden Green. A master gemmologist can identify which one is which. Many of these famous diamonds have stories. Some are a cocktail of facts and conjecture; others are intriguing; and then there are those endowed with trails of history.<br /><br />We have all heard of Kohinoor, the world’s most famous diamond. It was believed that whoever owned it would rule the world. But there are other famous diamonds and some of them have fairy-tale-like stories attached to them. Let me tell you of two such diamonds...<br /><br />Taylor-Burton Diamond<br /><br />This 68-carat (some sources state 69.42 carat) pear or teardrop-shaped diamond got its name not at the beginning, but in the course of its life. No prize for guessing that this is the diamond actor Richard Burton gifted his actor-wife Elizabeth Taylor, which created a media storm that blew across the three oceans. This piece of sparkling stone was found in 1966 in Premier Diamond Mine, South Africa. The famous diamond cutter Harry Winston gave it a shape of a pear/teardrop. It was first owned by one Mrs Harriet Annenberg-Ames.<br /><br />The still-not-named diamond caught the eye and passion of Richard Burton who was determined to buy it for his love at the Parke-Bernet auction on October 23, 1969, in New York. But in a clever move, Robert Kenmore, the then owner of Cartier, the famous jewellers, outbid Burton at the auction and bought it at a whopping 1.05 million dollars. The stone got an unofficial name as the ‘World’s first million-dollar diamond’. Four days later, Cartier sold it to Burton for 1.10 million dollars, keeping a “nominal” profit. The diamond got a permanent name. But alas, not a permanent home.<br /><br />Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor divorced, for the second time, in 1978. Taylor, in a philosophical temperament, sold off the diamond for five million dollars and donated much of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana, Africa. Henry Lambert, a New York jeweller, became the new owner. At present, the Taylor-Burton Diamond is part of the collection of Robert Mouawad Private Museum, in Lebanon.<br /><br />Hope Diamond<br /><br />Is there irony in the name? For, this 45.52-carat blue cushion-cut diamond, with an estimated price between 200 and 250 million dollars, and often regarded as the world’s second best diamond after the Kohinoor, is also known as the Diamond of Disaster. And, it has a strong Indian connection.<br /><br />The stone comes from Kollur Mine of Andhra Pradesh. Then, there is the story of a curse around the diamond. One legend has it that the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, while travelling in India in the early 1640s, stole the diamond that adorned the forehead of an idol of Goddess Sita. And the curse befell him. Some believe that Tavernier met with a tragic death — he was torn apart by wild dogs during a trip to Russia! But Susanne Patch, the author of Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond, does not agree with the chronicle of the idol or the curse, but confirms the Indian antecedent of the stone and Tavernier’s possession of it.<br /><br />Tavernier went to France and sold the diamond to King Louis XIV in 1668. The King named it ‘Blue Diamond of the Crown’. The diamond is also known as Le Bijou du Roi (The King’s Jewel), Le bleu de France (The Blue of France), and Tavernier Blue. The royal family of France had the diamond recut in 1673 and reset in 1749 by the respective court jewellers. Disaster came after another four decades. Was it the curse? Who knows?<br /><br />In the wake of the French Revolution, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were captured during their fleeing and were executed in 1793. In the prevailing turmoil, opinions are divided on whether the diamond was stolen or was it in the possession of the newly formed Constituent Assembly of France. There was no trace of this.<br /><br />The blue diamond resurfaced, in England this time, in 1823. King George IV of England bought the diamond. After his death, it was sold to pay off the king’s debts. The blue diamond went underground once again and reappeared in 1839, in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, and got its name. Hold on! The Hope family, three generations from Henry Philip Hope, fell into bad times and in 1901 sold the diamond to Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who in turn sold it off for money. The diamond changed hands five more times and came to the possession of Harry Winston Inc. of New York City, who, in 1958, donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, its present and, hopefully, permanent home.<br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>Diamonds carry in their lustre a bagful of clichés — ‘a woman’s best friend’ and ‘diamonds are forever’ are two of them. What is striking and yet, strangely, not part of the popular lore is that each diamond is unique. If you are wearing one, you can give a name to it, for there isn’t another one exactly like it in the whole world.<br /><br /></p>.<p>This is one reason why most of the famous diamonds of the world are known by their names, much like you and me. Polar Star, Great Mogul, Dresden Green. A master gemmologist can identify which one is which. Many of these famous diamonds have stories. Some are a cocktail of facts and conjecture; others are intriguing; and then there are those endowed with trails of history.<br /><br />We have all heard of Kohinoor, the world’s most famous diamond. It was believed that whoever owned it would rule the world. But there are other famous diamonds and some of them have fairy-tale-like stories attached to them. Let me tell you of two such diamonds...<br /><br />Taylor-Burton Diamond<br /><br />This 68-carat (some sources state 69.42 carat) pear or teardrop-shaped diamond got its name not at the beginning, but in the course of its life. No prize for guessing that this is the diamond actor Richard Burton gifted his actor-wife Elizabeth Taylor, which created a media storm that blew across the three oceans. This piece of sparkling stone was found in 1966 in Premier Diamond Mine, South Africa. The famous diamond cutter Harry Winston gave it a shape of a pear/teardrop. It was first owned by one Mrs Harriet Annenberg-Ames.<br /><br />The still-not-named diamond caught the eye and passion of Richard Burton who was determined to buy it for his love at the Parke-Bernet auction on October 23, 1969, in New York. But in a clever move, Robert Kenmore, the then owner of Cartier, the famous jewellers, outbid Burton at the auction and bought it at a whopping 1.05 million dollars. The stone got an unofficial name as the ‘World’s first million-dollar diamond’. Four days later, Cartier sold it to Burton for 1.10 million dollars, keeping a “nominal” profit. The diamond got a permanent name. But alas, not a permanent home.<br /><br />Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor divorced, for the second time, in 1978. Taylor, in a philosophical temperament, sold off the diamond for five million dollars and donated much of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana, Africa. Henry Lambert, a New York jeweller, became the new owner. At present, the Taylor-Burton Diamond is part of the collection of Robert Mouawad Private Museum, in Lebanon.<br /><br />Hope Diamond<br /><br />Is there irony in the name? For, this 45.52-carat blue cushion-cut diamond, with an estimated price between 200 and 250 million dollars, and often regarded as the world’s second best diamond after the Kohinoor, is also known as the Diamond of Disaster. And, it has a strong Indian connection.<br /><br />The stone comes from Kollur Mine of Andhra Pradesh. Then, there is the story of a curse around the diamond. One legend has it that the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, while travelling in India in the early 1640s, stole the diamond that adorned the forehead of an idol of Goddess Sita. And the curse befell him. Some believe that Tavernier met with a tragic death — he was torn apart by wild dogs during a trip to Russia! But Susanne Patch, the author of Blue Mystery: The Story of the Hope Diamond, does not agree with the chronicle of the idol or the curse, but confirms the Indian antecedent of the stone and Tavernier’s possession of it.<br /><br />Tavernier went to France and sold the diamond to King Louis XIV in 1668. The King named it ‘Blue Diamond of the Crown’. The diamond is also known as Le Bijou du Roi (The King’s Jewel), Le bleu de France (The Blue of France), and Tavernier Blue. The royal family of France had the diamond recut in 1673 and reset in 1749 by the respective court jewellers. Disaster came after another four decades. Was it the curse? Who knows?<br /><br />In the wake of the French Revolution, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were captured during their fleeing and were executed in 1793. In the prevailing turmoil, opinions are divided on whether the diamond was stolen or was it in the possession of the newly formed Constituent Assembly of France. There was no trace of this.<br /><br />The blue diamond resurfaced, in England this time, in 1823. King George IV of England bought the diamond. After his death, it was sold to pay off the king’s debts. The blue diamond went underground once again and reappeared in 1839, in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, and got its name. Hold on! The Hope family, three generations from Henry Philip Hope, fell into bad times and in 1901 sold the diamond to Joseph Frankels and Sons of New York City, who in turn sold it off for money. The diamond changed hands five more times and came to the possession of Harry Winston Inc. of New York City, who, in 1958, donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, its present and, hopefully, permanent home.<br /><br /><br /></p>
