Red Diamonds – The Most Expensive In The World
Kalyan Blog
The origin of the word ‘diamond’ can be traced back to the ancient Greek word ‘Adamas’ (which was often used to describe the hardest body known to man). In ancient times, people believed that diamonds symbolised divine spirits. For the Egyptians, diamonds always denoted authority, truth and bravery. Jewish priests used diamonds to determine the innocence or guilt of someone, when accused of a crime. The Romans and the Greeks believed that the diamonds were the tears of God or silver splinters that had broken off from falling stars.
Diamonds were first discovered in the valleys of India, and later it was extensively found in both Brazil and South Africa. Today, there are different varieties of diamonds available in the global market. The rarest type of them all is the Red Diamond.
Due to its rarity, Red diamonds are the most expensive diamonds in the world. Unlike other fancy coloured diamonds that derive their colour from impurities such as Nitrogen and Boron, Red Diamond are made purely of Carbon, just like colourless diamonds. The red colour of the diamond is caused by deformation in its crystal lattice structure. It is mostly found in Australia, Russia, Africa and Brazil. Because of their singular, unique anomaly, Red diamonds occur in small sizes.
The majority of Red diamonds found are less than 1 carat in weight. Only 5 red diamonds are known to exceed 5 carats in weight, the largest being 5.11 carats. A Red diamond is priced according to the strength of its colour. The stronger the reddish hue, higher the value. The ones with pure red or purple-red colour are scarce and hence most expensive.
NOTABLE RED DIAMONDS :-
MOUSSAIEFF RED DIAMOND: The Moussaieff Red diamond is reportedly the largest Red diamond weighing 5.11 carats. It has a brilliant triangular cut. It is among the top ten most expensive diamonds in the world. Moussaieff Red diamond was discovered by a Brazilian farmer in the 1990s in the Abaetezinho River, then purchased and cut by the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation. Although initially named Red Shield, it was renamed as Moussaieff Red Diamond when it was acquired by its new owners – Moussaieff Jewellers.
KAZANJIAN RED DIAMOND: The Kazanjian Red diamond is the second largest Red diamond in the world weighing 5.05 carats and has an emerald cut. Earlier it was known as the Red Diamond. The gem was discovered in the 1920s in Lichtenburg, South Africa and was seized by the Nazis during the Second World War. By 2007 it was renamed to Kazanjian Red diamond when it was purchased by the Kazanjian Brothers. The diamond was cut from a 35-carat piece of boart found in South Africa. In candlelight, the Kazanjian diamond appears as a vivid drop of blood.
DEYOUNG RED DIAMOND: The DeYoung Red diamond is the third largest Red diamond in the world weighing 5.03 carats. Ironically, the diamond was mistaken for a garnet and sold in a flea market to DeYoung, a jewellery seller from Boston. DeYoung Red diamond has an ordinary round brilliant cut, but the facets of its crown are horizontally split into two parts imparting a unique grace and beauty to this Red diamond. This has the unique distinction of being the only red diamond on public display, in a museum’s Hall of Gems, often alongside the famous Hope Diamond.
HANCOCK RED DIAMOND: The Hancock Red diamond weighs 0.95 carat and has a round brilliant-cut. The Red diamond is popularly known for its purplish red colour. It is named after the famous collector, Mr Warren Hancock. It is the first red diamond on public record. It was sold at an auction in 1987 at a record-setting $926,315 per carat. ROB RED DIAMOND: The pear-shaped 0.59 carat Rob Red diamond is named after its owner Mr Robert Bogel. It was found in the mining areas of Brazil. It is the ‘cleanest’ red diamond yet since it surpasses all others in its clarity and intensity of the red colour.
SUPREME PURPLE STAR: The round brilliant cut Supreme Purple star is one of its kind. Believed to have been discovered in the Amazon basin, it has been named for its unique colour. From the top, it appears to have a deep purple colour. When the diamond is rotated in the light, it looks cranberry purplish red. This extremely rare colour changing quality makes it exceedingly valuable and extraordinary. It reportedly weighs between two and five carats. The diamond was graded by the British Gemmological Institute, but details of the grading including the clarity are not publically available, and the stone has not been seen in public.
Because of their rarity and extraordinary value, red diamonds are not available for regular consumers. They are sold only through auction houses and bought by wealthy collectors and investors.
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