What Are The Most Famous Gems On Earth

Brought to you by affordable emerald cut engagement rings. Among the most well known stone is the Hope. This 45.52 carat steel blue stone is currently on display at the Smithsonian. The legends of the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope stone are many. This stone was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky 110-carat rough.

The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored stones. It is the largest green stone in the world weighing 40.70 carats. This stone is historic, large and has a natural green color with a slight blue overtone. These facts make it virtually priceless.

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01-carats. This pink stone was once owned by Louis XIII.

The Tiffany Yellow stone a beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. The gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor (Mountain of Light) is now among the British Crown Jewels. This stone weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have been once set in Shah Jehan's famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990. Since this sale, it has been modified to a cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue stone weighs 25 carats. It was found in the Premier stone Mine in Transvaal, South Africa.

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered in the summer of 1963, in a South African stone field. This 198.28-carat fancy brown stone appeared to be a light honey color in its rough state. However, after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt orange.

The Taylor-Burton stone is a pear-shaped 69.42 carat stone. Cartier of New York purchased this stone at an auction in 1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the stone for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the "Taylor-Burton". In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the stone up for sale. Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each to view the stone to cover the costs of showing it. Finally, in June of 1979, the stone was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

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