Since ancient civilization, diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby, jade, among others are the rarest stones treated with so much value. If you have this, it means that you are one of the wealthiest in the town or your region. In other cultures, these jewel stones also symbolize beauty and great power.
As time passes by, the price of these rare jewels is increasing, making it a more elusive dream for middle-class collectors to have it. Now, to excite and captivate you, here are the five most beautiful and most expensive jewelry pieces in the whole world.
- The Hope Diamond
Mined somewhere in Golkonda in Southern India, this Hope Diamond is indeed the most expensive jewel in the world. Experts estimate that this 45.52-carat blue stone costs about $250 million or about Php 12, 580, 250, 000. This jewel, moreover, is known for its trace amount of borons that gives it the magical and eccentric blue coloring that produces a stunning red glow when out of light.
Historically, it was a large piece of precious stone when Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French gem merchant, bought it around 1666. Unfortunately, the stone was stolen and cut many times until another gem merchant named Harry Winston bought the remaining piece of it. Later on, Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in 1958.
- Peacock Brooch
Peacock Brooch of multinational jeweler Graff Diamonds might not have a historical drama like the Hope Diamond but the composition of it is absolutely unbelievable. First released in 2013, this jewelry has over 1,300 diamonds that come in white, blue, yellow, and orange, and a total of 120.81 carats scattered throughout its peacock-shaped brooch with fanned feathers.
The composition is not just that. Because at the center, there is a very rare, one-of-a-kind, dark blue pear-shaped diamond that is 20.02 carats in total. The Peacock Brooch is estimated to amount to $100 million or Php 5,032,100,000. According to reports, there is no available data yet regarding the jewelry’s whereabouts and ownership.
- Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond
Another piece of jewelry from the famed Graff Diamonds is this 35.56-carat blue diamond named Wittelsbach-Graff. A unique characteristic of Wittelsbach-Graff is its Stellar Brilliant Cut that produced 82 facets arranged in an extraordinary pattern. Just like the Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach-Graff is believed mined in Golkonda in Southern India around the 17th century.
According to historical reports, the jewelry was bought by Spanish King Philip IV as a dowry to his daughter and then, later on, went to Augsburg. It was transferred in possession of Laurence Graff, owner and founder of Graff Diamonds, in 2008 through an auction in England. Graff then modified and sold it at $80 million or about Php 4, 041, 480, 000 in a royal family in Qatar.
- Pink Star
Pink Star (before known as Steinmetz Pink) is a rare, sophisticated, very clear pink diamond mined by De Beers Corporation in 1999 in South Africa. Originally, it was 132.5 carats in total but it was trimmed down to 59.6 carats. The cutting process lasted for 20 months before this pink diamond achieved its desired shape.
The Pink Star was in possession and care of the Smithsonian Institute before. Later on, it was put in an auction and sold at a very high price of $71.2 million or about Php 3, 582, 855, 200. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises of Hongkong is the one who sealed the deal.
- Oppenheimer Blue
Last is this 14.71-carat Oppenheimer Blue that costs $57.5 million or about Php 2, 873, 457, 500. A unique characteristic of this expensive blue diamond is it has an emerald cut.
This sophisticated and vivid diamond was named after Phillip Oppenheimer. The said blue diamond is a gift for Oppenheimer’s wife. However, there are no further reports about its historical background that’s why this diamond is also full of mystery. What is just known is that famed Da Beers had mined it in South Africa around the 20th century.
Yeah, the prices of those pieces of jewelry can already be used to build mansions or malls or a large corporation. To have at least one of those is truly a wild dream. But hopefully, you enjoy our mini discussion about these five most rare, sophisticated, and expensive pieces of jewelry in the whole world.