World Famous Diamonds 2

 The Beau Sancy
 

Also called The Little Sancy is a rounded pear shaped and weights about 34 carats and has been confused with its counter part called The Sancy which is 54 carats.  This diamond was bought by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange the grandfather of King Fredrick I of Prussia, who died in the year 1647.  The Beau Sancy is now in the possession of the head of the house of Hohenzollern, Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of William II, the last Emperor of Germany.

 The Beluga
 

The Beluga diamond weighs over 103 carats and is the largest standard oval brilliant cut diamond in the world.  This diamond was featured in an article about Blood Diamonds in the March 2002 issue of National geographic magazine.

 The Black Orlov
 

The Blace Orlov is said to have derived its name from the Russian Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov who owned it during the mid 1800s. It is a cushion cut stone weighing 76.50 carats and is a very dark gun metal color.  It has also been rumored to have been cut from a 195 carat stone that belonged to a shrine near Pondicherry, India in the 1900s.  There is no evidence of a Russian princess by that name nor has India ever produced any large black diamonds of note.  In 1969, the stone was sold for $300,000.

 The Blue Empress
 

The Blue Empress is a rare blue pear shaped diamond that weights about 14 carats and is part of a necklace valued at around $16,000,000.  The necklace is made from 18K white gold with smaller white diamonds surrounding the blue empress.

 The Blue Heart
 

This diamond weights 30.82 carats and is of a rare deep blue color.  In 1910 Cartier purchased the diamond and sold it to an Argentinean woman named Mrs. Unzue.  Van Cleef & Arpels bought the stone in 1953 for an estimated $300,000.  The Blue Empress is on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.  Along with the Hope diamond and the Heart of Eternity, it is one of the world most famous blue diamonds.

 The Blue Magic
 

Blue diamonds are among the rarest of colored diamond and they obtain their color from the small amounts of boron that was trapped during its crystallization process.  The Blue Magic is pear shaped and weights 12.02 carats.  It is estimated to be work between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000.

 The Briolette of India
 

The Briolette of India is 90.38 carats and if the legends hold up it may be the oldest diamond on record.  Richard the Lionhearted believed to have taken it on the Third Crusade.  The gem is very unique and remains the most famous briolette-cut diamond in the world.