The Briolette of India

The Briolette of India is a legendary diamond of 90.38 carats, which, if the fables about it are true, may be the oldest diamond on record, perhaps older than the Koh-I-Noor Diamond. In the 12th century, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first Queen of France and later England, brought the stone to England. Her son, Richard the Lionhearted, is said to have taken it on the Third Crusade.

It next appeared in the 16th century when Henry II of France gave it to his blonde mistress, Diane de Poitiers. It was shown in one of many portraits of her while at Fontainebleau.

After disappearing for four centuries, the stone surfaced again in 1950 when the jeweler, Harry Winston, of New York, bought it from an Indian Maharajah. It was sold to Mrs. I.W. Killam and bought back by Mr. Winston, following her death, about 10 years later.

In 1970, Mr. Winston showed the stone at the Diamond Dinner for American Fashion Editors. Source: Diamonds - Famous, Notable and Unique (GIA)

The book Diamonds - Famous, Notable and Unique was published in 1974, since that time new information on the Briolette of India has surfaced. The gem was thought to have a history extending to the Middle Ages, unfortunately recent research has revealed it was cut in Paris in 1908-9. Nevertheless, the gem is very unique and remains the most famous briolette-cut diamond in the world.

Gold dust, gold bar and gold coin

A spectacular grouping of gold dust, a gold bar and a gold coin from the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Hope Diamond - 44.5 carat

Since it was found in the early 1600's, the "Hope Diamond" has crossed oceans and continents and passed from kings to commoners. In 1688, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a French traveller and gem merchant, sold a blue diamond, weighing 1123/6 carats to King Louis XIV of France. The "Hope Diamond" came from India, the only significant source of diamonds at that time. In 1749, King Louis XIV's successor, Louis XV had the diamond reset in a piece of ceremonial jewellery called the Emblem of the Golden Fleece. In 1792, it was stolen during a week-long looting of the tumultuous and turbulent French revolutionary period. Sometime between 1812 and 1824, the diamond was apparently sold to King George IV, who died in 1830 and Henry Philip Hope, a London banker and gem collector bought the diamond in the 1830's and the precious stone acquired the "Hope" name. In 1912 the stone crossed the Atlantic when Evelyn Walsh Mclean acquired it. Subsequently, it changed hands when Henry Winston of New York city purchased it in 1949.

Finally, in 1958, Harry Winston presented the diamond to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where the blue stone commands global attention making tourists ponder over the fascinating and legendary four centuries of travel of the diamond from India to the U.S. capital.

Ocean Dream - 5.51 carat

By virtue of its natural colour alone (GIA Colour Grade: Fancy Deep blue-green), it is claimed that the 5.51 carat "Ocean Dream" (Cora Diamond Corporation), found in central Africa, is one of the rarest diamonds known to man. There is no record of any other diamond of this extraordinary colour and size. To set at rest any doubts and presumptions that the "Ocean Dream" (first row, extreme right) was artificially coloured, the GIA, through rigorous and thorough scientific examination, has concluded that its colour results from exposure to natural radiation over millions of years in the earth.
Once they are mined, cut and polished, diamonds are customarily graded. The GIA, an independent, non-profit organisation established in 1931, has created the International Diamond Grading System which is used by jewellery professionals around the world to determine the quality of a stone. Four grading categories are used to describe and classify diamonds: clarity, colour, cut and carat weight — more commonly known as the Four C's. The higher the grade in each of the categories — the rarer the stone.

Heart of Eternity

The "Heart of Eternity" is the largest of a unique collection of 11 blue diamonds and was exhibited as a companion to the "De Beers Millennium Star" during the millennium celebrations. It came from the Premier mine in South Africa, which is the only significant source of blue diamonds in the world.

Steinmetz Pink

First unveiled in Monaco in May 2003, the "Steinmetz Pink" was discovered in southern Africa and is the largest Fancy Vivid pink diamond known in the world. Labelled as flawless, and an extremely rare and coveted clarity grade, the Steinmetz group, owners of the diamond, took 20 months to cut the gem.

De Beers Millennium Star

At 203.04 carats, the "De Beers Millennium Star" is the heavy weight of the show. Discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ittook no less than three years for the Steinmetz Group to carefully cut the stone.

Pumpkin Diamond - 5.54 carats

Weighing 5.54 carats the cushion-shaped "Pumpkin Diamond" was so named when it was acquired at an auction by the House of Winston on the day before Halloween. It is one of the largest Fancy Vivid Orange natural colour diamonds in the world.

Mousaieff Red - 5.11 carat

The triangular-shaped 5.11 carat "Mousaieff Red" was discovered in the 1990's by a farmer in Brazil. Diamonds described by experienced gemologists as red are some of the rarest in the world.

Kohinoor - 108 carat Diamond

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.

Largest Diamond - 3,106 carats

The largest diamond every found was discovered on January 26, 1905 at Premier Mine in south Africa. The Cullinan diamond weighed 3,106 carats, about 1 1/3 pounds. It was cut into 9 stones, one of which is the worlds second largest diamond, The Star of Africa. It is set in a scepter and is a part of the British Crown Jewels.

Agra Diamond - 32.4 carat

The 32.4 carat Agra is graded by the Gemological Institute of America as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink, VS2 clarity diamond. It sold for £4,070,000 (about $6.9 million) to the SIBA Corporation of Hong Kong, the same company that owns the Allnatt Diamond


Read more about Agra Diamond here

The Allnatt: - 101.29 carats

The Allnatt: At a 101.29 cts., the Allnatt is the fourth-highest-priced yellow diamond ever sold at auction. It is so strongly yellow that the GIA Gem Laboratory deemed it a Fancy Vivid yellow after examination in 2000. There are fewer than 12 diamonds known to exist in the world that weigh over 100 carats with such strong color. The Allnatt takes its name from former owner, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt of Great Britain, who purchased it in the 1950s. The diamond was recut to intensify its color after being sold at auction in 1996. The original Allnatt weighed 102.07 cts. and was graded a Fancy Intense yellow by the GIA Gem Laboratory, but after recutting to its present 101.29 cts., it was classified as Fancy Vivid yellow. It is believed that the Allnatt was most likely recovered from the De Beers mine in South Africa. It is owned by SIBA Corporation.

Ahmahdabad Diamond - 78.86 carats

This is an antique pear-shaped brilliant diamond, weighing 78.86 carats. Named for the region where it was discovered, Ahmahdabad, the capitol of the Indian state of Gujarat, on the Sabarmati River. The city has long been a center for trading and cutting diamonds.

SnakeGem- Most Amazing antique in the World

Dear Friends

My Passion towards antique dates back to 1996 when I started out looking for the most amazing antique piece available in the World. A rare piece!!!.. 99% percent still beleives it as a part of mythology, but my friends I tell you frankly , it is real...
Now I will tell you some indepth details of this Gem.

Location :

It is only found in the indian subconitnent region namely Southern states of India and Srilanka. Some are found in thailand also... To be frank the total number of gems available in the whole world is below 50.

Source :

The source is a snake which grow a maximum of 1.5 feets golden in color. The snake has an amazing life span of 300-400 years which never bites in its whole life. Because of that the poison soldifies inside its mouth and comes out eventually. It iwll be having the shape of bean and will be semi solid. If you crush it will break easily like a cooked bean.

Features:

It is the only self illuminating gem in the world. Once the poison soldifies and comes out of the mouth of the snake it reacts with the atmosphere. Once it is contact with the air, Light beams will start emanating from the two cormers and will eventually stop at a point. There are different types of stones with different colors of light emanating. But one gem will have only one type of color. The power of the gem is appraised by the distance of the readability of a standard book in dark. Some will have 10 feet long, the maximum I heard was 180 feet.

Once the snake start mating, it will spit this gem and indulge in it. People when see this they will cover the stone with Cow Dung. Once the cow dung is applied the snake will leave and die or go away.

Fortune :
This gem is referred in the vedic literatures mentioning about the fortune of a person who possess this gem. It says every good fortune will follow him after the possession. In India olden kings used tyo give this a a rare gift to various foreign sailors in the past. There are still some collectors have this very rare piece of gem in Europe.

Conclusion
My search ended with seeing one aand another one in Video... If you come here it will be impossible to find this Gem because the people who possess it will never want to give it away.


More rare Antique pieces are coming on the way....

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