All that glitters is not gold

Sometimes they're just diamonds. Over more than a century ago, on January 25 1905, a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered at a mine in Pretoria in South Africa. Here are glimpses of five of the most expensive diamonds in the world

Sometimes they're just diamonds. Over more than a century ago, on January 25 1905, a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered at a mine in Pretoria in South Africa. Here are glimpses of five of the most expensive diamonds in the world

The Hope Diamond
Discovered in India's Kollur Mine in the mid-1600s, the 45.52-carat blue diamond had a long list of distinguished owners, including Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, before it was purchased by Harry Winston in 1949.



Legend has it that it spelled bad luck and ultimate death for not just the owner of the diamond, but anyone who touched it, as it had been stolen from an idol in India. Its current home is the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Estimated value: US$ 350 million

The Kohinoor Diamond
One of the most famous diamonds in the world, weighing around 186 carats, the Kohinoor is an oval cut white diamond.



The diamond passed the hands of various Indian and Persian rulers before finally becoming part of the Crown Jewels of England at the time that Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. The Kohinoor was re-cut at the time and now weighs 108.93 carats. It is kept in the Tower of London.
Estimated value: unestimable

The Sancy Diamond
The pale yellow 55.23-carat shield-shaped stone, thought to be of Indian origin, is one of the first large diamonds to be cut with symmetrical facets.



The stone is also unusual because it has no pavilion or base ufffd just a pair of back-to-back crowns (upper portion of a cut gemstone). It gets its name from Nicholas Harlay de Sancy: a French diplomat in the 16th century. He was also a collector, connoisseur and dealer in diamonds. The Sancy is currently displayed at The Louvre in France.
Estimated value: unestimable

The Cullinan diamond
On January 25th 1905, at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered during a routine inspection by the mine's superintendent.



Weighing 1 1/3 pounds, and christened the 'Cullinan', it was the largest diamond ever found. Until 1985. The Cullinan diamond part of the crown jewels of the United Kingdom.
Estimated value: US$ 400 million

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond
The 31.06-carat deep blue diamond was shown only once in public from 1931 to 2008. Experts wondered for decades, if a single diamond produced both the Wittelsbach-Graff and the Hope Diamond (right). Both diamonds were extracted from mines in India in the 1600s.



Though they look strikingly similar, a microscopic analysis of their crystal structures reveals that the two diamonds came from different stones. The blue diamond was on display at the American Museum of Natural History till 2008, when it was sold to London-based jeweler Laurence Graff.
Estimated value: ufffd16.4 million (as of December 2008)