A diamond is classified as a diamond not because of its colour, but due to its unique molecular make-up. Meanwhile its value is based on what is known as the four Cs – cut, colour, clarity and carat.
Aptly for a gemstone forever associated with engagement rings, the word diamond comes from the Ancient Greek word for unbreakable or unalterable.
In this Billionaires most expensive guide, we’ll take a look at the world’s 10 most expensive coloured diamonds.

10. The Allnatt Diamond

Worth an estimated $3 million, the Allnatt Diamond is a fancy intense yellow example of the gemstone and is 101.29 carats in size.
It’s named after the British businessman Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt, who owned it during the 1950s. Mystery surrounds its origins before he purchased the stone, but it is believed to have been found in South Africa at the site of what is now the De Beers Premier mine.
Allnatt commissioned Cartier to make a flower setting for it. It was sold for $3 million-plus at Christie’s in Geneva in 1996 to the SIBA Corporation.

9. The Moussaieff Red Diamond

This 5.11 carat diamond is valued at $7 million and is a fancy red stone. It is the biggest fancy red ever to be classified but at 5.11 carats, it’s actually quite small compared to some of the other gems on this Billionaires most expensive countdown.
Previously known as the Red Shield Diamond, it was discovered in the River Abaetezinho in Brazil in 1990. The stone was sold to Moussaieff Jewellers at the start of the new millennium and takes its current name from the company.

8. The de Grisogono Green Diamond

This $7.3 million 25 carat green diamond is a cushion-cut stone which is believed to have originated in South Africa. The stone is said to be the finest modern example of a green diamond.
The stone was put up for sale by Swiss jeweller de Grisogono in 2006 as part of a white gold ring with seven black diamonds.
The stone was owned by Fawaz Gruosi who is believed to have purchased it from a diamond dealer in 1998.

7. Cora Sun-Drop Diamond

Sold at auction for $10.9 million in 2011, just a year after it was found in South Africa, the Cora Sun-Drop Diamond is the world’s most expensive vivid fancy yellow diamond.
The gemstone is pear-shaped and 110.3 carats in size. It went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Geneva to a mystery telephone bidder. Because the diamond was new to the market and had no previous owners, this is believed to have further enhanced its value.

6. The Heart of Eternity

The $16 million Heart of Eternity diamond is a 27.64 carat fancy vivid blue, originally discovered in South Africa at the Premier Diamond Mine.
It was one of diamonds on display at the Millennium Dome in London in 2000 that were the subject of a failed heist.
The diamond was cut into its distinctive heart shape by the Steinmetz group. It is currently owned by a mystery private collector.

5. The Wittelsbach Diamond

This royal diamond is a blue stone that is believed to have originated in India. It was once part of both the Bavarian and Austrian Crown Jewels.
But the diamond that exists today is markedly different to the blue stone that was once owned by royalty. It was substantially recut by Laurence Graff, who paid $16.4 million for it in 2008, in order to remove flaws from the stone.
Around three carats were removed from its size to achieve the aim, and the diamond is now 31.06 carats in size.

4. The Pink Star

This vivid pink diamond is valued at $25 million and is 59.60 carats – the largest vivid pink diamond known to exist.
Previously known as the Steinmetz Pink, it was found in De Beers’ South African mine in 1999 and took expert diamond cutters 20 months to cut and shape. It was sold privately to an unknown buyer in 2007 and was sold again at auction in 2013.
Pink diamonds are incredibly valuable due to their extreme rarity.

3. Graff Pink Diamond

This fancy intense pink is 24.78 carats in size and is valued at $46 million. It was once owned by the legendary jeweller Harry Winston.
It was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in 2010 and is now owned by collector Laurence Graff. It has been described as one of the greatest diamonds ever discovered.
The origin of the stone, which is emerald cut and mounted in a ring, is unclear. It belonged to Winston in the 1950s before being sold to a private collector, who is thought to have kept it for more than 50 years.

2. The Hope Diamond

Worth an astonishing $350 million, the Hope Diamond is a blue stone that is 45.52 carats in size and according to legend, it is cursed because so many people associated with it have died.
The Hope Diamond is believed to have been mined in India in the 17th Century and was taken to France, where it was sold to Louis XIV and made into a cravat pin, known as the French Blue. It disappeared during a theft of the French Crown Jewels during the French Revolution and is thought to have been smuggled to England. It’s believed the jewel now known as the Hope Diamond is just a part of the original French Blue.
It was owned by the British Royal Family for a period and ended up in the US at the start of the 20th Century. It was owned for a time by jeweller Harry Winston, who eventually agreed to gift it to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where it is on display in Washington DC.

1. The Ocean Dream Diamond

No precise estimate of the value of this 5.51 carat stone exists but its incredible rarity means it takes top spot in this Billionaires countdown.
The Ocean Dream was the first, and remains one of only a miniscule number, to be classed as fancy deep-blue green in colour. It gained its unique colour after being exposed to radiation over millions of years.
This amazing stone was found in Central Africa and is part of the collection owned by the Cora Diamond Corporation.
So next time you’re shopping for a diamond, don’t automatically look for the brilliant white variety. The rarity of some coloured diamonds means they can be incredibly valuable, as well as incredibly beautiful to look at.

By Lynne Thorley

Pictures cited in links below.

With thanks to Billionaires Australia

More from You Tube.

For thousand of years, most expensive diamond become one of the most popular collection of the rich and the king. Diamond is one of the most wanted mining products. You can be rich instantly if you found a big and rare diamond in the backyard of your house. These most expensive diamond are the most wanted one that almost all people in the world want to save in their mansion or palace. Let’s take a look at those most expensive diamond in the world

10. The Allnatt Diamond : $ 3 Millions

This diamond is named after Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt. He was one of the holders of the diamond. The Allnatt diamond has size of 101.29 carat (20.258 g) with a cushion cut. The diamond color is rated as fancy vivid Yellow by the Gemological Institute of America. No one know precisely where the diamond was found. But some expert say that the diamond was found where the De Beers premier diamond mine now located.

9. The Moussaieff Red Diamond : $ 7 Millions

The Moussaieff Red Diamond is 5.11 carats (1.022 g) diamond with triangular brilliant cut that rated as Fancy Red in colour by the Gemologial Institute of America (GIA). Although Moussaieff is relatively small compared to other expensive diamond, this is the largest fancy red ever rated by GIA.

8. The Heart of Eternity : $16 Millions

The Heart of Eternity is a 27.64 carats (5.528 g) diamond with a color rated as Fancy Vivid Blue by the Gemological Institue of America. This diamond is very rare class of colored diamond. It was cut by the Steinmetz group before sold to De Beers Group. The diamond itself was found in premier diamond mine in South Africa.

7. Wittelsbach Diamond : $ 16.4 MillionsThe Wittelsbach diamond (Der Blaue Wittelsbacher) is a 35.36 carats (7.11 g) blue diamond with size of 40 mm in diameter with 8.29 mm in depth and VS 2 in clarity. It was become part of both Austrian and Bavarian crown jewels, with color and clarity has been compared to the Hope Diamond (you can see below on No. 4).

6. The Steinmetz Pink : $ 25 Millions

The Steinmetz Pink is 59.60 carats (11.92 grams) of diamond that rated as Vivid Pink by the Gemological Institute of America. It’s the largest known diamond that given a color as Fancy vivid pink ever. The Steinmitz Pink was displayed as part of Smithsonian’s “The Splendor of Diamons” exhibition.

5. De Beers Centenary Diamond: $ 100 Millions

The De Beers Centenary Diamond were classified as D levels by the Gemological Institute of America. It’s the highest grade of a diamond that colorless and internally and externally flawless. The diamond itself is 273.85 carats (54.77 grams) in weight. This diamond is the 3rd largest diamond has been produced by De Beer’s Premier Mine.

4. The Hope Diamond : $350 Millions

The hope diamond is 45.52 carats (9.10 grams) large diamond that now located in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The diamond looks blue in color to the naked eye because the number of traces of boron in the crystal structure but It shine a red phosphor under ultraviolet light.

3. The Cullinan : $ 400 Millions

The Cullinan Diamond is 3,106,75 carats (621.35 grams) diamond and is the largest rough gem quality diamond ever found in the world. After polished it become Cullinan I or Star Africa first and at 530.2 carats (106.0 grams) is the largest diamond in the world until 1985 with the Golden Jubilee of 545.67 carats (109.13 grams) from the same premier Mine.

2. The Sancy Diamond : (Unestimated, Priceless)

The Sancy diamond is 55.23 carat (11.05 grams) of pale yellow diamond that once was famous as the belonging of the Great Moguls. It’s believed that the diamond is Indian origin. This is the first large diamonds to be cut with symmetrical facets. The stone is also unusual because it has no pavilion – just a pair of crowns, one on the other. This historical diamond is now kept in the French Crown Jewel collection housed at the Louvre.
1. Koh-I-Noor : (Unestimated, Priceless)

Koh-I-Noor means as “Mountain of Light” from Persian. It’s a 105 carat (21.6 grams) diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Koh-I-Noor was originated at Golconda in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. It was owned by various Sikh, Mughal and Persian rulers that fought each other from time to time. The stone was found to measure 36.00 × 31.90 × 13.04 mm. The gem remains the property of the British crown and is kept in HM Tower of London and it’s a popular tourist attraction.

Looks like there could be another for this list, but not a coloured diamond.Still very impressive!
From English Alarabya:

‘Flawless’ 100-carat diamond on show in Dubai

An internally “flawless” 100-carat diamond was on show Monday in Dubai ahead of being sold at auction next month by Sotheby’s, where it could fetch up to $25 million.
The stone, which was discovered a decade ago in the De Beers mines of South Africa, will go under the hammer at a “Magnificent Jewels” sale in New York in April, the auction house said.

One of five diamonds weighing more than 100 carats that have surfaced on the market over the past 25 years, the jewel’s estimated sale price is between $19 million to $25 million (18-23.7 million euros), according to Sotheby’s.

The auction house describes it as the “ultimate emerald-cut diamond, weighing 100.20 carats, D colour, internally flawless” and “unlike any diamond offered at auction before.”
Frank Everett, Sotheby’s vice-president of sales for jewelry, told AFP in Dubai that the diamond was “for anyone who really desires the best of the best.”

Everett said the diamond could be worn as “a pendant on a necklace, or a cuff bracelet or a ring” although someone might buy it “to admire it just as an object in its own right.”
Sotheby’s hopes that showcasing this “perfect” diamond in Dubai and other locations ahead of the April sale can help it attract the attention of the Middle East’s wealthy elite.

It just sold for $22 million.

Another update from Billionaires Australia:

Italian Millionaire Suing Christie's over Rare Pink Diamond - The Princie Diamond.

A case in Manhattan is unfolding, involving the heist of a $40 million rare pink diamond from an Italian millionaire and sale at Christie's.

The bizarre story is taking place in New York, where Italian Amedeo Angiolillo currently lives. The sole heir of Senator Renato Angiolillo is suing Christie's auction house after it sold the 300-year-old 34.65-carat Indian diamond to an anonymous bidder, claiming it was on behalf of someone other than the rightful owner – which he claims to be.

The rare pink gem is dubbed the Princie Diamond and is described by the claim as “the rarest, perhaps most famous and illustrious pink diamonds in the world”. It has a long history of being passed down through generations of Indian rulers. It came into Angiolillo's family's possession when Renato, founder and editor of famous newspaper Il Tempo, purchased the jewel from Van Cleef & Arpels in 1961 after marrying second wife, Maria Girani.

Girani then took custody of the diamond, however the suit claims that this was as agreed with Angiolillo's heirs and not a permanent agreement. The claim outlines that many times she told the Angiolillos that the Princie Diamond and other jewels “belonged to them by inheritance, and that they would be returned to them after her death”.

Upon his mother's death, Marco Oreste Bianchi Milella, is accused of claiming incorrectly to be the beneficial owner, before selling the gem via a Christie's auction for $40 million.
Angiolillo and his nieces and nephews intend to recover the diamond from the unknown buyer as a result of their claim in court, as well as receiving a sum of damages. Angiolillo says that he holds insurance documents detailing that he is the rightful owner of the precious pink diamond.
Picture credit: Aneka Info