Famous Fancy Colored Diamonds - from "The Splendor of Diamonds" by Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History



1. THE STEINMETZ PINK

59.60 carats
South Africa
Loaned by The Steinmetz Group
This oval gem is internally flawless and is the largest vivid pink diamond known. Because of its significance, experts from The Steinmetz Group took 20 months to cut it. The diamond was just unveiled to the public on May 29 of this year at a ceremony in Monaco.

2. THE MOUSSAIEFF RED

5.11 carats
Brazil
Loaned by Moussaieff
Although this triangular diamond is smaller than others on display, its vivid red color is astounding. Deep red is among the rarest of diamond colors. Cut and polished from a 13.9-carat crystal discovered in the 1990s by a Brazilian farmer, this is the largest red diamond known.

3. THE HEART OF ETERNITY

27.64 carats
Premier mine, South Africa
Loaned by a private collector
This large, fancy vivid blue diamond was displayed together with The De Beers Millennium Star at London’s recent millennium celebrations. As with the Hope Diamond, the blue color comes from boron atoms trapped in the crystal structure.

4. THE ALLNATT

101.29 carats
De Beers mine, South Africa
Loaned by SIBA Corp.
Strongly colored diamonds weighing more than 100 carats are extremely rare, making this vivid yellow diamond truly exceptional. The color is the result of nitrogen atoms that replaced some of the crystal’s carbon atoms. The gem is named after its former British owner, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt.

5. THE PUMPKIN DIAMOND

5.54 carats
South Africa
Loaned by Harry Winston, Inc.
This diamond is a rare example of a strong orange color. Most diamonds in this color range are noticeably brown. It was purchased by Harry Winston, Inc., in 1998, and was worn in a ring by film actress Halle Berry in 2002 when she received an Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball

6. THE OCEAN DREAM

5.51 carats
Central Africa
Loaned by Cora Diamond Corp.
Most diamonds of this hue have been artificially colored in the laboratory. But this stunning diamond was colored naturally. Radiation in the Earth caused defects in the atomic structure that gave rise to the blue-green color. The gem’s strong color and large size are highly unusual.

7. THE BEERS MILLENNIUM STAR

203.04 carats
Democratic Republic of Congo
Loaned by DeBeers LV
Named for the recent passing of the millennium, this is the sixth-largest colorless, gem quality diamond ever discovered. The flawless, pear-shaped gem was cut by The Steinmetz Group over a period of three years from a 777-carat crystal discovered in the early 1990s.