Top 7 Most Expensive Jewels In The World
The most expensive jewels in the world are unique and fascinating for their beauty and craftsmanship. They are adorned with splendid and rare gemstones and are, in fact, true works of art.
Throughout history, both women and men have appreciated jewelry. The oldest jewelry was manufactured thousands of years ago.
From simple shell bracelets and necklaces to crowns and diamond-studded necklaces, they all reflect human aspiration for beauty.
But jewelry is not only beautiful. Jewels are symbols of status, rank, and wealth. Some have been passed down through many generations, explaining the exorbitant values they have reached today.
Let us present you some of the most expensive jewelry in the World. They are really gorgeous:
The Hope Diamond – $250 million
Pictures Hope Diamond (Source: naturalhistory.si.edu)
This masterpiece is the most expensive jewelry in the world and arguably the most famous. Its centerpiece is a 45.52-carat blue diamond.
It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which is semiconductive and usually phosphoresce. The Hope Diamond phosphoresces a strong red color, which will last for several seconds after exposure to short-wave ultra-violet light. The diamond's blue coloration is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the stone.
In the pendant surrounding the Hope Diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shaped and cushion cuts. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds.
The history of the famous gemstone which was eventually named the Hope Diamond began with the French merchant traveler, Jean Baptiste Tavernier. According to the Smithsonian, he purchased a 112 3/16-carat diamond which was most likely from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India.
Tavernier sold the beautiful diamond to King Louis XIV of France in the year 1668, along with 14 other large diamonds and several smaller ones. In 1673, the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting in a 67 1/8-carat stone.
In the royal inventories, its color was described as an intense steely blue, and the stone became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," or the "French Blue." It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the King wore on ceremonial occasions.
Like every jewel in this list, this extraordinary piece comes with a legend. It is said to bring bad luck and curses, but these aspects haven't diminished its fame. The legend might have arisen from the diamond's unusual luminescence, with its boron traces causing the stone to shine in a stunning shade of red even when not exposed to light.
The King and Queen were guillotined shortly after the purchase of the diamond. The diamond then made its way to England, Paris, and America. The last private owner of the blue diamond was an American socialite, Evalyn Walsh McLean. Her family members died one after another after she bought the cursed diamond.
When Evalyn herself passed away, the stone was sold to another jeweler named Harry Winston, who in 1958 donated it to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where it remains on display today.
Peacock Brooch – $100 million
Throughout history, both women and men have appreciated jewelry. The oldest jewelry was manufactured thousands of years ago.
From simple shell bracelets and necklaces to crowns and diamond-studded necklaces, they all reflect human aspiration for beauty.
But jewelry is not only beautiful. Jewels are symbols of status, rank, and wealth. Some have been passed down through many generations, explaining the exorbitant values they have reached today.
Let us present you some of the most expensive jewelry in the World. They are really gorgeous:
The Hope Diamond – $250 million
Pictures Hope Diamond (Source: naturalhistory.si.edu)
This masterpiece is the most expensive jewelry in the world and arguably the most famous. Its centerpiece is a 45.52-carat blue diamond.
It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which is semiconductive and usually phosphoresce. The Hope Diamond phosphoresces a strong red color, which will last for several seconds after exposure to short-wave ultra-violet light. The diamond's blue coloration is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the stone.
In the pendant surrounding the Hope Diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shaped and cushion cuts. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds.
The history of the famous gemstone which was eventually named the Hope Diamond began with the French merchant traveler, Jean Baptiste Tavernier. According to the Smithsonian, he purchased a 112 3/16-carat diamond which was most likely from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India.
Tavernier sold the beautiful diamond to King Louis XIV of France in the year 1668, along with 14 other large diamonds and several smaller ones. In 1673, the stone was recut by Sieur Pitau, the court jeweler, resulting in a 67 1/8-carat stone.
In the royal inventories, its color was described as an intense steely blue, and the stone became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," or the "French Blue." It was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the King wore on ceremonial occasions.
Like every jewel in this list, this extraordinary piece comes with a legend. It is said to bring bad luck and curses, but these aspects haven't diminished its fame. The legend might have arisen from the diamond's unusual luminescence, with its boron traces causing the stone to shine in a stunning shade of red even when not exposed to light.
The King and Queen were guillotined shortly after the purchase of the diamond. The diamond then made its way to England, Paris, and America. The last private owner of the blue diamond was an American socialite, Evalyn Walsh McLean. Her family members died one after another after she bought the cursed diamond.
When Evalyn herself passed away, the stone was sold to another jeweler named Harry Winston, who in 1958 donated it to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where it remains on display today.
Peacock Brooch – $100 million
Picture Credit: thejewelerblog
The second most expensive jewelry in the world is a stunning brooch that made its debut in 2013 at the TEFAF art fair in the Netherlands.
Shaped like a peacock, the brooch features a total of 120.81 carats and is made out of over 1,300 white, yellow, blue, and orange diamonds. At the center of the brooch is a 20.02-carat fancy deep blue pear-shaped diamond, one of the rarest blue diamonds in the world.
The peacock's tail feathers are adorned with a vivid array of white, pink, yellow, orange, green, and blue diamonds in various sizes and shapes. The tip of each feather is set with a cluster of white diamonds that look like a flowery bloom.
The owner and location of this brooch are not currently made public.
Pink Star - $71.2 million
Pink Star (Source: the jewellery editor)
This pink diamond, known as the "Pink Star," weighs 59.6 carats, although before it was cut, it was 132.5 carats in size. It was mined in South Africa in 1999.
Described as one of “the earth’s greatest natural treasures”, the oval-cut 59.6-carat “Pink Star” is the largest internally flawless pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.
First unveiled to the public in 2003, the Pink Star was called the “Steinmetz Pink,” but it was renamed after it was first sold for an undisclosed sum in 2007.
In 2017, it was sold by Sotheby's at an auction for $71.2 million. The owner of this magnificent piece is Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in Hong Kong.
Oppenheimer Blue – $57.5 million
Oppenheimer Blue (Source: https://ro.pinterest.com)
This jewelry piece is named after Phillip Oppenheimer and features a 14.62-carat vivid blue diamond.
Like the Pink Star, it was cataloged by the American Gemological Institute as the largest vivid blue diamond in the world.
This diamond also has a mysterious history. It was found in a South African mine in the mid-20th century, but more details are not available as the mining company closed its archives and they are no longer accessible.
What is known about this diamond is that it became part of the Oppenheimer family after Phillip Oppenheimer gifted it to his wife, but details like where the jewelry was purchased and at what price are unknown.
L'Incomparable Diamond Necklace – $55 million
L'Incomparable Diamond Necklace (Source: http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com)
The Mouawad L’Incomparable Diamond Necklace holds the record for the most valuable necklace in the world (US $55 million) and features the flawless 407.48-carat yellow diamond, suspended gracefully from a 229.52-carat white diamond necklace intertwined by 18-karat rose gold branchlets.
The central diamond is known as the largest flawless yellow diamond in the world and is the size of an egg. The magnificent centerpiece diamond was found by chance in a discarded pile of mining rubble by a young girl in the African Congo in the 1980s.
The necklace is currently regarded as the most expensive jewelry piece in its category in the world.
Blue Moon of Josephine – $48.4 million
Blue Moon of Josephine (Source: https://www.professionaljeweller.com)
Smashing all records, the Blue Moon Diamond, renamed The Blue Moon of Josephine, sold in November 2015 at Sotheby’s Geneva for over $4 million per carat – the world auction price-per-carat record for a diamond or gemstone.
“After seeing the stone’s color and understanding its significance, it was fitting to name it the Blue Moon Diamond,” noted Suzette Gomes, CEO of Cora International.
“Not only its shape is reminiscent of a full moon," she said of the cushion-shaped fancy vivid blue 12.03-carat diamond, “but the metaphor for the expression is exactly what one could say about the occurrence and existence of such a gemstone.
This diamond was also discovered in South African mines and is rare due to its crystal-clear blue color. Initially, the diamond was 29.6 carats.
The Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace – $27.4 million
Hutton Mdivani Necklace (Source: https://www.reddit.com)
This famous jewelry piece is part of Cartier's jewelry collection and is made of 27 graduated jadeite beads, with a clasp of 18k yellow gold, rubies, and diamonds.
Each bead in the necklace measures over 15mm in diameter and all beads were carved from the same boulder. This helps to explain its most recent realized auction price in 2014 of 27.4 million dollars.
It is a remarkable piece with a history in the Georgian royal family. Its first owner was American heiress Barbara Hutton, who received this necklace as a wedding gift from her father when she married Prince Alexis Mdivani of Georgia in 1933.
Barbara Hutton was the only child of Edna and Franklyn Laws Hutton (and granddaughter of Frank W. Woolworth). When Barbara married in 1933, her father bequeathed her an outstanding jadeite necklace by Cartier, later dubbed the Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace.
The necklace was specially designed for Hutton and remained in the family for five decades until her death in 1979.
We invite lovers of gemstone jewelry to explore our collection of exquisite jewels.
The peacock's tail feathers are adorned with a vivid array of white, pink, yellow, orange, green, and blue diamonds in various sizes and shapes. The tip of each feather is set with a cluster of white diamonds that look like a flowery bloom.
The owner and location of this brooch are not currently made public.
Pink Star - $71.2 million
Pink Star (Source: the jewellery editor)
This pink diamond, known as the "Pink Star," weighs 59.6 carats, although before it was cut, it was 132.5 carats in size. It was mined in South Africa in 1999.
Described as one of “the earth’s greatest natural treasures”, the oval-cut 59.6-carat “Pink Star” is the largest internally flawless pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.
First unveiled to the public in 2003, the Pink Star was called the “Steinmetz Pink,” but it was renamed after it was first sold for an undisclosed sum in 2007.
In 2017, it was sold by Sotheby's at an auction for $71.2 million. The owner of this magnificent piece is Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in Hong Kong.
Oppenheimer Blue – $57.5 million
Oppenheimer Blue (Source: https://ro.pinterest.com)
This jewelry piece is named after Phillip Oppenheimer and features a 14.62-carat vivid blue diamond.
Like the Pink Star, it was cataloged by the American Gemological Institute as the largest vivid blue diamond in the world.
This diamond also has a mysterious history. It was found in a South African mine in the mid-20th century, but more details are not available as the mining company closed its archives and they are no longer accessible.
What is known about this diamond is that it became part of the Oppenheimer family after Phillip Oppenheimer gifted it to his wife, but details like where the jewelry was purchased and at what price are unknown.
L'Incomparable Diamond Necklace – $55 million
L'Incomparable Diamond Necklace (Source: http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com)
The Mouawad L’Incomparable Diamond Necklace holds the record for the most valuable necklace in the world (US $55 million) and features the flawless 407.48-carat yellow diamond, suspended gracefully from a 229.52-carat white diamond necklace intertwined by 18-karat rose gold branchlets.
The central diamond is known as the largest flawless yellow diamond in the world and is the size of an egg. The magnificent centerpiece diamond was found by chance in a discarded pile of mining rubble by a young girl in the African Congo in the 1980s.
The necklace is currently regarded as the most expensive jewelry piece in its category in the world.
Blue Moon of Josephine – $48.4 million
Blue Moon of Josephine (Source: https://www.professionaljeweller.com)
Smashing all records, the Blue Moon Diamond, renamed The Blue Moon of Josephine, sold in November 2015 at Sotheby’s Geneva for over $4 million per carat – the world auction price-per-carat record for a diamond or gemstone.
“After seeing the stone’s color and understanding its significance, it was fitting to name it the Blue Moon Diamond,” noted Suzette Gomes, CEO of Cora International.
“Not only its shape is reminiscent of a full moon," she said of the cushion-shaped fancy vivid blue 12.03-carat diamond, “but the metaphor for the expression is exactly what one could say about the occurrence and existence of such a gemstone.
This diamond was also discovered in South African mines and is rare due to its crystal-clear blue color. Initially, the diamond was 29.6 carats.
The Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace – $27.4 million
Hutton Mdivani Necklace (Source: https://www.reddit.com)
This famous jewelry piece is part of Cartier's jewelry collection and is made of 27 graduated jadeite beads, with a clasp of 18k yellow gold, rubies, and diamonds.
Each bead in the necklace measures over 15mm in diameter and all beads were carved from the same boulder. This helps to explain its most recent realized auction price in 2014 of 27.4 million dollars.
It is a remarkable piece with a history in the Georgian royal family. Its first owner was American heiress Barbara Hutton, who received this necklace as a wedding gift from her father when she married Prince Alexis Mdivani of Georgia in 1933.
Barbara Hutton was the only child of Edna and Franklyn Laws Hutton (and granddaughter of Frank W. Woolworth). When Barbara married in 1933, her father bequeathed her an outstanding jadeite necklace by Cartier, later dubbed the Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace.
The necklace was specially designed for Hutton and remained in the family for five decades until her death in 1979.
We invite lovers of gemstone jewelry to explore our collection of exquisite jewels.
