The World's Most Expensive Colored Diamonds
Pumpkin Diamond ($3 million)
Discovered in 1997 and purchased for $1.3 million by Ronald Winston for the House of Harry Winston, the Pumpkin Diamond measures 5.54 carats and is rated a Fancy Vivid Orange by the Gemological Institute of America. (Winston chose the name because he bought the stone the day before Halloween.) Now worth an estimated $3 million, the Pumpkin Diamond was worn by Halle Berry to the 2002 Oscars when she won best actress for Monster's Ball.
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Flawless Blue Diamond ($9.5 million)
In 2009, Sotheby's Geneva sold a flawless blue diamond for $9.5 million, setting a record for that color at auction and the largest amount ever paid per carat for any gemstone at auction. Weighing 7.03 carats, the rectangular diamond went to an anonymous buyer on the telephone who battled with another bidder for 15 minutes.
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Sun-Drop Diamond ($10.9 million)
Setting a record for a yellow diamond at auction, the Sun-Drop Diamond of South Africa sold at Sotheby's Geneva this week for more than $10.9 million. The pear-shaped gem weighs 110.3 carats and was discovered only last year, meaning it has no previous owners, which added to its value. And it also comes with a bonus-the new owner gets to name the stone.
Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond ($24.3 million)
Unearthed in India in the mid-1600s, the original Wittelsbach Diamond weighed more than 35 carats and was once part of the Austrian and Bavarian crown jewels. In 2008, it was purchased by the English jeweler Laurence Graff, who in 2010 revealed that he had refashioned the Fancy Deep Blue diamond, removing several flaws as well as four carats. "The stone is heavily chipped around the edges," Graff said about the gem, which he renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff. "[It] was cut in the 1600s. I think we know more about polishing diamonds today. It will come back to the market as a more beautiful stone."
Graff Pink Diamond ($46 million)
Rivaling the Steinmetz Pink is the Graff Pink, a 24.78-carat emerald-cut diamond once owned by the jeweler Harry Winston. But in 2010, the Fancy Intense Pink gem went up for auction, which caused David Bennett, director of the international jewelry department at Sotheby's, to gush: "I cannot exaggerate just how rare this stone is. This sale is one of the most exciting of my 35-year career. It is one of the most desirable diamonds ever to come to auction, and its beauty has haunted me since the very first time I set eyes on it some years ago." The diamond did not disappoint: It sold to Laurence Graff for $46 million, the most ever spent on a jewel at auction.
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Hope Diamond ($250 million)
Among the most romanticized jewels in the world, the Hope Diamond is housed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and considered the second-most visited piece of art in the world (behind the "Mona Lisa"). Discovered in India in 1812, the 45.52-carat blue-gray stone has had many owners over the years, including Harry Winston, Pierre Cartier, and Lord Francis Hope, for whom it is named. The diamond is also said to be cursed-including the alleged suicides of several of its owners-though it appears to be more of a mythic notion than one based on evidence.
Spirit of de Grisogono Diamond (value unknown)
Weighing in at a hefty 312.24 carats, the Spirit of de Grisogono is not just the largest cut black diamond in the world; it was the fifth largest diamond, period, before it was cut. Mined several decades ago-when it tipped the scales at an astonishing 587 carats-the supersize stone was eventually set in a white gold mounting and surrounded by 702 white diamonds, totally 36.69 carats. And, boy, must they feel tiny.
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