For a long time, the diamond is one of the most beautiful and rare objects on earth. But, would you like to know why influential people in the world push to get the coolest of these gems? This article will explain details of the seven most expensive diamonds and why they are costly.
The price of diamonds in the market depends on some factors. Every jewelry trader will tell you that an expensive diamond should have a good cut, brilliance, and clarity. So, we believe discussing the below diamonds will help you understand why they are so costly.
The Most expensive diamonds in the world
Based on the price, cut, and origin, the list is presented from the most to the least expensive. Below are the seven most costly diamonds on earth.
1. The Koh-I-Noor diamond
First of all, the name itself will make you be attracted to it. In Persia, Koh-I-Noor is a mountain of light. The diamond is white and weighs 86 carats.
Ever since it was discovered in the 1300s, the location of this gem is in the diamond mines of Golconda, India. A famous Persian Shah assigned the name of the diamond in 1739. Nader Shah took over New Delhi and named the diamond ‘Mountain of Light.’
As of now, the Queen of Britain owns it. It happened when Britain colonized Northern India and took the diamond from the last ruler of Punjab, who had got it through inheritance. Many people claim that the British stole it from the Indians.
What is the price of this diamond? The diamond is fully priceless. In 1852, Prince Albert reduced it to 86 carats from 105.6 carats to increase its brilliance and sparkling feature.
2. The Sancy diamond
With a flashy name, it simply shows how much the diamond is valued. It’s in the form of a shield with a pale yellow color with a brilliant cut. It weighs 55.23 carats.
Its story began back in 1570 and is believed to from India because of its shape. The beautiful gem was named after one of the owners in the 1500s called Seigneur de Sancy. There were other leaders who it before and after him, and it later disappeared during the French revolution.
Later on, it was sold to the Louvre for $1 million by Viscount Astor, the 4th in 1978. Today, you can get it in the Apollo gallery. The gem is priceless.
3. The Cullinan
This gem is the largest rough diamond in the world. After being mined in Cullinan, South Africa, in 1905, it weighed 3106.75 carats. The name came from the place where it was mined.
After a cut, the diamond was first divided into Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa. It weighed 530.2 crats and remained the largest until 1985. Later on, the company made cuts for Cullinan II to up to IXÂ from the original Cullinan.
All these nine forms of Cullinan are part of the crown jewels of the United Kingdom. The price of the Cullinan I is at $400 million. Altogether, the nine pieces are valued at $4 billion.
4. Hope diamond
The 45.52-carat dark gray-blue diamond was first mined in the Kollur mines, India, in the 1600s. It has a cut of antique fashion with a good touch of brilliance. Initially, it weighed 132.00 carats.
It was first in the hands of Luis on the 14th. It got the name from the Hope banking family in London, who had it in 1839. Later on, it was stolen during the French revolution.
Most people claimed that the blue diamond was cursed. As a result, the previous owners underwent problems having it in possession. Besides that, the owners ended up losing it.
In 1949, the gem was bought by Harry Winston. He gave it to the Smithsonian Museum in 1958. The price of this gem is $30 million.
5. De Beers centenary diamond
This diamond is the third-largest gem coming from the Premier mine in South Africa. At first, it weighed 599 carats, with no flaws internally and externally. It has a cut of modified heart-shaped brilliance.
The diamond got its name from the centennial celebration done by the De Beers consolidated mines in 1998, May 11th. Later on, it was unveiled in 1991 May after having the heart-shaped cut. It was the re-cutting process that reduced its carats to 273.85.
De Beers centenary diamond has an attractive color and clarity. With these attractive features, it’s priced at $100 million. The De Beers don’t own it but have never explained the current location of the gem because of privacy issues.
6. The Steinmetz pink diamond
This pink star diamond weighs 59.60 carats. It was first mined in the De Beers mines in 1999. It has a cut of mixed oval brilliant, which makes it stand out.
The name came from the Steinmetz diamonds company owned by Benny Steinmetz. This company took one year and eight months to cut this gem. With their fine finishes, the diamond acquired a beautiful brilliance.
Currently, it’s owned by the Chow Tai Fook company. The firm bought it for $71.2 million at the Sotheby’s auctioning process on April 3rd, 2017. The price remains to be its current one in the market.
7. The Oppenheimer Blue diamond
With 14.62 carats, this is the largest gem to ever appear in an auction. It has an attractive blue cut, set in a ring, and covered by two smaller diamonds on both sides. This gem was first mined in South Africa.
It was named after the owner, Sir Phillip Oppenheimer, who managed the De Beers. He then gave it as a gift to his wife. During the first launch, it was expected to have 38 to 45 million Swiss Francs as the price, but it brought more profit.
During its latest auction at Christie’s Geneva in May 2016, De Beers sold it at $57.5 million. Up to now, it remains to be its current price in the market.
Why are diamonds so expensive?
Without a doubt, all diamonds are costly. So don’t be surprised if you find that they cost more than gold. But why are they very much expensive?
It’s good to understand the secret behind the pricing. Below are six reasons explaining why diamonds are so expensive.
The mining process is costly
Getting diamonds from the earth’s crust is rare. It means that there are very few pieces of diamond in the world. It’s because spotting and mining them is laborious and expensive.
It’s the availability of these stones in the market that will make their price fall. Mining companies invest huge amounts of dollars in designs in challenging places to get the gem. Operating mines is also very expensive and thus making the diamonds not be many in the market.
The low rough yield of the diamonds.
A carat of a diamond can have only be30% pure after mining. This fact is because a carat having a rough diamond will only cut one-third of the carat finished diamond. Additionally, getting a carat from mines is not easy.
The yield of the carat will depend on the output from the rough. If it’s makable, it can be polished to a gem. Other roughs need to be sawn before the refining and cleaving process.
With these options, you can see that mining industries go through a lot and can get low yields. Most carats having quality diamonds end up as dust which is then polished. It’s these processes that make the availability of diamonds become low and make them costly.
Cutting and sorting are hard.
Sorting and examining every rough from the mines require high skills. It’s because diamond roughs are costly, and yields can be poor. So experts must look at them carefully to avoid any loss.
The diamond cutters have to be very keen and skilled to get the best form every rough. One has to make calculations that will bring more profits without wasting the roughs. Hence, the cutters have to ensure they give the best yield.
After cutting, the polishing process is also costly. It comes after the cutters split the roughs using lasers. All these activities, in the end, contribute to the high prices of diamonds in the market.
Differences in the grade
In recent times, the diamond acquired through highly financed budgets needs to be graded. Besides the costly mining processes, it adds an extra cost of $120. Generally, it’s the report that will determine the price of your diamond.
You might be competing for a high price with people having diamonds with good color, good clarity, and excellent cuts. It’s through the grading that experts communicate well about the diamond quality. This act makes the business to be very competitive.
Financing the inventory is expensive
The mining processes are very costly. From the mining industries to when the gem reaches the buyers, there is a lot of money needed. Every cutter spends millions on buying rough and run their industries.
The jewelry companies will need to buy the diamond, which is becoming rare. Sellers of diamonds also require huge amounts of capital to purchase the items. All these people need a lot of money to ensure that people get the diamonds.
Growth in demand
The law of demand and supply also works in the diamond industry. The current generation never sees any advertisement for the sale of diamonds. It happens in this manner, yet many people want natural diamonds.
Back then, only the United States and Europe demanded diamonds. Now China and India have grown in demand for the gem. As a result, companies like De Beers no longer invest in advertising for diamonds. It makes the price of diamonds costly.
Conclusion
Generally, you have seen why diamonds are costly. The prices of different diamonds will never be the same because of their origin, weight, and other qualities. Some diamonds have no prices listed for them because they are precious.
Now, if you are to buy natural diamonds, go for the most expensive ones. You will not be disappointed. Has this information enlightened you about diamonds and their pricing? Let us know by leaving a comment.
