Diamonds are one of the world's most precious gems. The word diamond comes from a Greek word, "adamus", which means invincible due to the fact that diamonds aresaid to be the hardest minerals in the world. They are 1000 times harder than rubies or sapphires. Not even the most powerful acids can harm a diamond's surface.

For centuries, we have been fascinated with gemstones and their different qualities. Everyone seems to have a favorite gemstone. Some stones are thought to have special powers or attributes that we can absorb while others have very personal meanings. There are those precious few that are so bold and beautiful that we stand in awe of their unique presence. It may be due to size, color or simply their meaning and lore but each one has something special. Here are some of the famous gemstones we have featured with information surrounding their existence.

The Great Star of Africa
This stone is also known as the Cullinan. It weighs 530.20 carats and is the largest polished colorless diamond in the world. It was originally cut from the largest rough diamond ever found, which was 3,106 carats. It has 72 facets and is part of the British Crown Jewels kept at the Tower of London. It adorns the sceptre of English royalty.

The Orloff diamond is thought to have weighed about 300 carats when it was found.

At one time, the Orloff was confused with the Great Mogul diamond, and is now held in the Diamond Treasury of the former Soviet Union in Moscow.

One tale told is that the Orloff diamond was set as the eye of a god in the temple of Sri Rangen and was stolen by a French soldier disguised as a Hindu.

Before the Centenary Diamond was faceted, it weighed almost 600 carats. It took 3 years for the master cutter, Tolkowsky, to fashion it into the largest, modern-cut flawless diamond. This stone is also part of the British Crown Jewels. The Centenary is cut with 247 facets, 83 of which are on the girdle. It weighs 273.85 carats and is only smaller in size to the Great Star of Africa (530.20 carats) and the Lesser Star of Africa (317.40 carats)

The Regent diamond was discovered by an Indian slave in 1701. It is 410 carats in the rough, and 140.50 carats fashioned. Previous owners include the Duke of Orleans and the Regent of France. It was set in the Louis XV coronation crown and then in Napoleon's sword hilt. It is currently on display at the Louvre in Paris.

The adventurous history of the Regent is very much like that of several other great diamonds. Greed, murder and remorse play a part in the opening chapter. Trouble - political, social, and personal - accompanies this gem to it's last resting place. Originally known as the Pitt, this 410-carat stone was one of the last large diamonds to be found in India. It is said to have been discovered by a slave in the Parteal Mines (also spelled 'Partial') on the Kistna River about 1701. The slave stole the enormous rough concealing it in bandages of a self-inflicted leg wound, and fled to the seacoast. There, he divulged his secret to an English sea captain, offering him half the value of the stone in return for safe passage to a free country. But during the voyage to Bombay, temptation overcame this seafaring man and he murdered the slave took the diamond. After selling it to an Indian diamond merchant named Jamchund for about $5000, the captain squandered the proceeds in dissipation and, in a fit of remorse and delirium tremens, hanged himself.

In 1702, Jamchund sold the stone for about $100,000 to Governor Thomas Pitt of Ft. George, Madras, who was the grandfather of William Pitt of American Revolutionary fame. Known to historians as the "Elder Pitt," William was the British Prime Minister for whom Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was named. He sent it to England and had it fashioned into a 140.50 carat cushion-shaped brilliant cut, measuring approximately 32mm × 34mm × 25mm. The cutting took two years and cost about $25,000, but a number of smaller stones brought more than $35,000; some of these were rose-cut stones that were sold to Peter the Great of Russia. The principal gem, which has but one very small imperfection, is today considered one of the finest and most brilliant of the known large diamonds.

The Koh-i-noor diamond has been recut several times and currently is 105.6 carats. It was reported to come from the throne of Shah Jehan.

According to some sources, the Koh-i-noor diamond was found in the Godavari river in central India 4,000 years ago. Tradition associated with it states that its owner will rule the world, but that to possess it is dangerous for any but a woman. This may have been a delicate piece of flattery to Queen Victoria, who once owned the gem.

The authentic history of this jewel begins in the 14 c. when it was reported to be in the possession of the rajas of Malwa. It later fell into the hands of Baber, who founded the Mogul dynasty in 1526. During the next two centuries the diamond was one of the most prized items in the treasure of the Mogul emperors.

In 1939, Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India and all of the treasures of the Moguls fell into his hands except the great diamond. Nadir Shah was told by one of the emperor's harem women that the stone was hidden in the emperor's turban. The conqueror then invited the conquered to a feast and offered to exchange turbans as a gesture of friendship. The emperor had no choice but to agree. Later, in the privacy of his tent, Nadir Shah unrolled the turban, the gem fell out, and Nadir is supposed to have exclaimed "Koh-i-noor", mountain of light.

The stone continued in the possession of the Persian dynasty, although many attempts were made to gain ownership of it. The Persian king was assassinated, and his son Shah Rukh, was deposed. In an effort to discover the whereabouts of the diamond Shah Rukh´s eyes were put out, and boiling pitch was poured on his head, but he refused steadfastly to reveal its hiding place. Later, a Persian king fled with it to the Sikh court, and Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, took the stone and wore it as a decoration. It was later placed in the Lahore treasury. After the Sikh wars, it was taken by the East India Company as part of the indemnity levied in 1849, and was subsequently presented to Queen Victoria at a sparkling levee marking the company's 250th anniversary.

The Blue Hope Diamond was named after Henry Philip Hope who collected many beautiful gemstones. Supposedly his family died in poverty, although he stipulated that the gems carry the family name regardless of the owner. It is in a mounting surrounded by colorless diamonds and can be viewed in Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. This stone is also surrounded by stories of "bad luck" to all who try to posses it. Much has been written on the history of the Hope, but two articles online may be viewed at Albritons, a diamond merchant's site, and the winter 1996 Gem Forecaster.

The Sancy Diamond has one of the most interesting, colorful, confused and involved histories of all the famous diamonds in Europe. It is a pale yellow 55.23-carat shield-shaped stone, apparently of Indian origin, and is said to be one of the first large diamonds to be cut with symmetrical facets. The diamond is also unusual because it has no pavilion - just a pair of crowns, one upside down on the other.

In 1570, the diamond was purchased in Constantinople by the French Ambassador to Turkey, Nicholas Harlai, the Seigneur de Sancy, who was an avid collector of gems and jewelry. This passion for personal adornment was more in evidence during the 1500's and 1600's in Europe than any other time and any other place, except in the East. He brought the diamond to France, where Henry III, who was very sensitive about being bald, borrowed it to decorate a small cap he always wore to conceal his baldness. Sancy was a predominate figure in the French Court at the time. Henry was the vicious, vain, weak son of Catherine de Medici.

During the next reign, when Sancy was made Superintendent of Finance, Henry IV borrowed the diamond as security for substantial loan to hire soldiers. A messenger was dispatched with the jewel but never reached his destination; thieves had followed him. Knowing that the man was loyal, Sancy made a search of him and his body was discovered, cut open, and in the stomach of the servant the diamond was found!

Sancy sold the diamond to James I, and was listed in the 1605 Inventory of Jewels in the Tower of London. It remained in England until 1669. Charles I, son of James I, was beheaded and his widow, Henrietta Maria, presented the diamond to Somerset, the Earl of Worcester, from whom it passed once again to the English Crown. James II later owned it, but he lost it in the disastrous battle of the Boyne and fled to France. Although Louis XIV was a pleasant and generous host to James, shabby, mournful, exiled kings bored him. James, in desperation, sold the diamond to the greedy king, who was known for his love of diamonds. Louis gave him $25,000, which did much to impress James with the security value of gems in time of need.

According to another gem historian, the Sancy was sold under different circumstances. During the Civil War, Queen Henrietta Maria took it to the Continent and pledged it, together with other diamonds, to Duke of Epernon for 460,000 livres. In 1657, Cardinal Mazarin paid off the Duke and, with the Queen's consent, took possession of the gems and bequeathed them with other fine stones to Louis XIV.

In 1792, at the beginning of the French Revolution, the Sancy and other famous gems were stolen from the Garde Meuble (Royal Treasury) in Paris. It reappeared in 1828 and was sold by a French merchant to Prince Anatole Demidoff of Russia; the prince, in turn, is recorded as selling it in 1865 for $100,000. Two years later, the diamond was displayed by the French jeweler, G. Bapst, at the Paris Exposition, bearing a price tag of FR 1,000,000 (one million francs).

In 1906, the Sancy was purchased by William Waldorf Astor (1st Visount Astor) as a wedding present when his son (later 2nd Viscount Astor) married Nancy Langhorne of Virginia. Lady Astor often wore the big shield-shaped diamond in a tiara on state occasions. In 1962, it was one of the features of the Ten Centuries of French Jewelry exhibition at the Louvre Museum. After Lady Astor's death in 1964, the celebrated diamond was inherited by her son, the 3rd Viscount Astor. The diamond is set in a mounting that permits it to be affixed to the head ornament.

The Maharajah of Patalia also claimed ownership of a 'Sancy Diamond.' Although this stone is similar in shape, it weighs 60.40 carats or about ten percent more than the Sancy of the Astor Family. The Sancy now resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

The largest diamond ever found in North America is the Uncle Sam Diamond. It weighs 40.23 carats, and was found near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It is also on display in the American Museum of Natural History.