Icons of Rarity: The World’s Most Famous Fancy Coloured Diamonds
Our Fancy Colour Diamond Report spotlights the stories of the most rare and extraordinary diamonds, celebrated not only for their exquisite colours but also for the history and mystique they carry.
Colour diamonds were formed billions of years ago, deep below the Earth’s surface, under exceptional geological conditions. Considering their gruelling journey, each of these gems tells an extraordinary story. For centuries, they have captured the public’s imagination and have been admired and desired by royalty, nobility, historical figures, and, more recently, celebrities and collectors. These gems come in an astonishing range of hues and each colour bears its own distinctive traits, contributing to the uniqueness of every diamond. Together, they carry a rich and storied legacy. Their enduring mystique and rarity continue to place them among the world’s most valuable gems, regularly setting records at auctions and in private sales across the globe.
Among these remarkable treasures, a few have risen to legendary status—natural diamonds whose colour, history, and allure have made them icons in their own right.
THE HOPE DIAMOND:
From Curse to Icon
The Hope Diamond ranks among the world’s most famous and mysterious gems. Now housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where it draws millions of visitors annually, its journey began in 17th-century India. French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier purchased the original 112-carat stone and sold it to King Louis XIV, who had it cut and named the “French Blue”.
The diamond vanished during the French Revolution after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette surrendered it to the government shortly before their execution. It resurfaced in the early 1800s, recut into its current shape, and eventually entered the collection of Henry Philip Hope, whose name it still bears. The diamond remained in the Hope family until 1901 when it was sold by Pierre Cartier to American heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean, who had it set into the iconic necklace we recognise today. Later, jeweller Harry Winston acquired the diamond and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1958 — famously mailing it via the US Postal Service.
Weighing 45.52 carats, the Hope Diamond is a fancy deep greyish blue stone that glows red after exposure to ultraviolet light.
THE DRESDEN GREEN:
Jewel of Kings, Survivor of Thieves
The Dresden Green is one of the most famous colour diamonds in the world, first mentioned in a London newspaper in 1722. It was acquired in 1741 by Frederick Augustus II of Saxony and added to the Green Vault, a dazzling collection of royal jewels housed in Dresden Castle and started by his father, Augustus I. Set by Viennese goldsmith Pallard into a Golden Fleece hat ornament, the diamond remarkably remains in its original 18th-century setting.
Weighing 41 carats, the stone was classified by GIA in 1988 as a fancy green, modified pear-shaped brilliant with medium tone and slightly greyish saturation. Its age and origin offered rare insight into naturally irradiated green diamonds, valuable for distinguishing natural from treated stones, though no grading report was issued due to its mounted setting.
Incredibly, the Dresden Green survived a 2019 heist at the Green Vault — one of the largest art thefts in history — because it was on temporary loan to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art at the time. The thieves have since been caught and many of the jewels recovered.
There is no official record of the sum paid for the Dresden Green in 1741, but a letter from the King of Prussia indicates that it could have been 400,000 thaler. At the time, according to the Metropolitan Museum the exorbitant sum would have been worth about four tonnes of gold.
THE TIFFANY DIAMOND:
A Yellow Masterpiece
Few jewels are as famous, or as rarely worn, as the Tiffany Diamond. Discovered in 1877 at South Africa’s Kimberley mine, the 287.42-carat rough was acquired the following year by Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for $18,000 — a hefty sum at the time. After a year of careful study, it was transformed into a stunning 128.54-carat cushion-cut brilliant, renowned for its exceptional size and beauty.
Only four women have ever had the honour of wearing this legendary yellow diamond. The first was Mary Whitehouse, who debuted it publicly in 1957 at the Tiffany Ball. It was later set in designer Jean Schlumberger’s Ribbon Rosette necklace and famously worn by Audrey Hepburn when promoting the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In 1995, it appeared in Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock design for a museum exhibit, and in 2012, it was reset into a dazzling necklace with over 100 carats of additional diamonds to mark Tiffany’s 175th anniversary. That version was slightly modified for Lady Gaga’s show-stopping appearance at the 2019 Oscars. Most recently, Beyoncé joined the exclusive club, wearing the Tiffany Diamond in a 2021 brand campaign, adding another chapter to its extraordinary legacy.
THE CTF PINK STAR:
A Record-breaking Diamond
The 59.60-carat CTF Pink Star stands unrivalled as the world’s largest internally flawless, Fancy Vivid pink diamond, certified by the GIA. Discovered in 1999 as a 132.5-carat rough diamond deep within the De Beers South African mine, this breathtaking gem underwent nearly two years of meticulous planning and expert craftsmanship. The result? A stunning masterpiece of unparalleled beauty.
Like many legendary diamonds, the CTF Pink Star has journeyed across the globe, captivating audiences wherever it appears. Originally known as the ‘Steinmetz Pink’, the diamond made a spectacular debut at the Monaco Grand Prix. Months later, it became a centrepiece at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where visitors marvelled at its exquisite colour. In 2004, the Pink Star was graced by Her Royal Highness, Princess Ubolrattana, in Bangkok, Thailand. The following year, in July 2005, it once again took the centre stage at the Natural History Museum in London.
The diamond’s remarkable journey culminated in 2017 when Sotheby’s Hong Kong auctioned the gem to a record-breaking sale. Acquired by the leading Chinese jewellery house, Chow Tai Fook for an astonishing US$71.2 million — the Pink Star shattered multiple records: it became the world’s most valuable diamond ever sold at an auction and secured the highest price for any auctioned work in Asia. In honour of this milestone, the diamond was renamed the CTF Pink Star, commemorating the late Dr. Cheng Yu-Tung — the founder and grandfather of Chow Tai Fook’s current chairwoman, and celebrating the brand’s 88th anniversary.
What sets the CTF Pink Star apart is not just its size or flawless clarity, but the mysterious origin of its enchanting pink hue. Only 0.0001% of diamonds exhibit this romantic pink shade. It is precisely this elusive beauty that will earn the CTF Pink Star a place in history books. More than just a gemstone, it is a timeless symbol of nature’s artistry and human mastery, destined to mesmerise and inspire generations to come.
