The Cullinan Diamond

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April is almost over, but I feel like I would be remiss to let this diamond birthstone month pass without mentioning perhaps the most famous diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan diamond. 
The Cullinan diamond was discovered at a mine in the area that was known as the Transvaal in South Africa, in 1905. Weighing 3,106 carats (1.3lb), it was originally cast aside, believed to be too big for any use. The stone is named after the mine’s (then) chairman Thomas Cullinan. 
However a buyer for the massive stone was not be found. The stone was then purchased by the Transvaal government for £150,000 and was presented to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday. When the diamond was eventually transported to England it traveled by way of the ordinary parcel post while a decoy was sent on a heavily guarded ship.

left to Right: Thomas Cullinan with the rough diamond, King Edward VII, Joseph Asscher cutting the Cullinan, Models of the rough Cullinan diamond and the stones cut from it

The Cullinan was cut into three large parts by Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam, and a number of smaller fragments. There is a story that the diamond cleaver Joseph Asscher promptly fainted after splitting the diamond in half, but this is likely just a myth intended to dramatize the stone's history. Ultimately the rough diamond was cut into nine major stones and ninety-six smaller ones. The two largest were incorporated into the Crown Jewels. 

Cullinan I, the Star of Africa
This is the largest stone cut from the Cullinan. The diamond measures 5.9 centimetres (2.3 in) long and weighs 530.4 carats (106.08 g). It is a pear-shaped diamond and is set in the head of the Sovereign's Scepter with Cross. It may be taken out of the scepter and worn as a pendant or suspended from Cullinan II to make a brooch. (Can you imagine the neck ache the pendant would give you!?)

Cullinan II, the Second Star of Africa
This rectangular cushion-cut stone weighs 317.4 carats. It is set in the front cross of the Imperial State Crown, just below the Black Prince's Ruby (which is actually a large spinel).

Left to Right: Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation with the scepter and crown containing the Cullinan I & II, Cullinan I in the scepter, Cullinan II in the crown

Cullinan III & IV:
Cullinan III is a pear-cut, 94.4-carat diamond. Cullinan IV is square-cushion-cut and weighs 63.6 carats. They are both known as the Lesser Stars of Africa. They are also affectionately called "Granny's Chips" by Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Mary, the queen consort of George V, had Cullinan III and IV set in the surmounting cross of her newly acquired crown for her coronation in 1911. In 1914, they were removed and replaced by crystal models. Cullinan III is most frequently worn as a brooch, in combination with Cullinan IV. (Both stones could be placed back into the crown, but since Queen Mary's death on 24 March 1953 her crown has remained unworn.)

Left to Right: Cullinan III & IV in the brooch setting, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth II wearing "Granny's Chips" at her Diamond Jubilee Celebration

Culinan V:
This is a heart-shaped diamond that weighs 18.8-carats. It is set into the centre of a platinum brooch. The brooch was originally part of a stomacher made for Queen Mary to wear at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. 
The mounting of the jewel was designed to be as adaptable as possible. It can be suspended from the VIII brooch and can be used to suspend the VII pendant. It was left all the brooches to Elizabeth II when she died in 1953.

Left to Right: Cullinan V in the brooch setting, Queen Mary in the Dehli Dubar Parurue, Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Cullinan V brooch. 

Cullinan VI, VII, & VIII:
Like the V the Cullinan VI-VIII were set with the Delhi Dubar in mind and are all subsequently part of what is called the Dehli Dubar Parure (see above photo). 
Cullinan VI is marquise-cut and weighs 8.8 carats. It unusually hangs from the brooch containing Cullinan VIII. Along with the V they formed part of the stomacher of the Delhi Durbar parure. 
Cullinan VII is also marquise-cut and weighs 11.5 carats. It was originally given by Edward VII to Queen Alexandra. After his death she gave the stone to Queen Mary, who had it set as a pendant hanging from the diamond and emerald Delhi Durbar Necklace, of the Delhi Durbar parure.
Cullinan VIII is a cushion-cut diamond weighing 6.8 carats. It is set in the centre of a brooch forming part of the stomacher of the Delhi Durbar parure. As mentioned earlier it can be paired with Cullinan VI to form a brooch. Queen Elizabeth II is rarely seen wearing this brooch, however she has worn the Cullinan V many times. 

Left to Right:  Cullinan VI and VIII together as a brooch, Queen Elizabeth II wearing VI and VIII, Cullinan VII as a pendant in the Dehli Dubar (diamond and emerald) necklace, QEII in the Dehli Dubar Parure, Queen Mary in the Dehli Dubar Parure

The Cullinan IX in it's setting

Cullinan IX:
This was the last large diamond that was cut from the Cullinan. It is pear-cut and weighs 4.4 carats. It was mounted into an openwork 12-claw platinum ring setting for Queen Mary.

Queen Elizabeth II's Engagement and Wedding Rings

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Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring might not be the grandest piece of jewelry in her arsenal, but it has a history. The diamonds in the ring are from a tiara that belonged to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s mother Princess Alice of Battenberg (great granddaughter of Queen Victoria).

Her wedding band is made of Welsh gold. In 1923, the Windsors were given a nugget of gold that was from the Clogau St. David’s mine in Bontddu Wales. The gold was used to make Elizabeth’s ring, as well as the wedding rings worn by Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Princess Diana. Later rings, including those worn by the Duchess of York, the Countess of Wessex, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duchess of Cambridge, have also been made from Welsh gold.

The Luxembourg Empire Tiara

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Have you ever looked at tiaras and thought “well that’s nice, but it’s just not big enough!” Well then this is the tiara for you!

The Luxembourg Empire Tiara dates from the 1800’s the tiara is covered in diamonds. The tiara is over 4 inches tall and contains numerous motifs, such as: geometric, anthemion, and scroll designs.
The history of the tiara is a bit murky. Previous theories attempted to trace it back to Romanov Russia (with the look of the tiara it isn’t hard to imagine). However, the current thought is that the tiara was possibly acquired as a wedding gift for Pauline of Württemberg, who married Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, in 1829. The German dukes of Nassau became the rulers of the grand duchy of Luxembourg in 1890, when law prevented Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands from ruling.
We have visual evidence of the tiara’s public debut on the head of reigning Grand Duchess Charlotte when she married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma in 1919. One of Charlotte’s sisters (Hilda), wore it for her wedding too.
On her abdication Charlotte passed the grand tiara to her daughter-in-law Joséphine-Charlotte, the new grand duchess. Joséphine-Charlotte’s husband abdicated in favor of his son Henri in 2001, however her daughter-in-law Maria Teresa did not wear it publicly until after Joséphine-Charlotte’s death. 
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has worn the tiara on many state occasions and to weddings (notably Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding in 2010).

The Olive Wreath Tiara

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The olive wreath tiara was commissioned from Cartier by Princess Marie Bonaparte on the occasion of her marriage to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907. 
Marie was both a princess and an heiress. She was descended from French royalty by way of Lucien Bonapart (a younger brother of Napoleon) as well as being the granddaughter of François Blanc (a real estate developer whose casino projects included the famous Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco). Prince George of Greece and Denmark was one of the sons of King George I of the Hellenes.
The tiara, designed by Cartier, was a nod to Marie’s imperial heritage. Diamond olive leaves with eleven diamond “olives", which could be swapped out for other stones at will. Apparently the original “olives” were emeralds which Marie switched out in favor of rubies occasionally. 
In the center of the already magnificent tiara was a jaw dropping enormous pear-shaped diamond set en tremblant. 
Princess Marie died in 1962. Approximately thirty years later the tiara went up for auction without the central diamond or the emerald and ruby stones. The tiara was purchased in 1999 by the Albion Art Institute and the central diamond was replaced. 
The marriage between Marie and George was…complicated (for lack of a better term). Suffice to say as a result of her marriage she became a devout follower of Sigmund Freud. I won’t go into the sordid details here but, if you’re curious take a minute to google them.

 

The Great Table Diamond: Darya-i-Noor and Noor-ul-Ain

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Replica of the Great Table Diamond and subsequent cuttings by Scott Sucher

A large pink diamond is believed to have decorated the throne of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The original large stone was described by French jeweler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in 1642. He called it the Great Table diamond. The theory is that the large diamond was cut into two pieces with the larger part being the Darya-i Noor and the smaller part being the 60-carat Noor-ul-Ain.  Both are part of the Iranian Imperial collection. 

The top stone in the above image is a replica of the Great Table. It is believed that it measured 56.3 x 29.5 x 12.15 mm. Below the Great Table are replicas of the stones that are believed to have been cut from it. On the left is the Noor-ul-Ain (60 carats oval shaped). On the right is the previously mentioned Darya-i Noor (182 carats rectangular shaped/table cut). 

Darya-i-Noor Diamond:
The pale-pink colored diamond, weighs 182 carats and is part of the Iranian crown jewels. The name, “Darya-i Noor” is Persian and means “The Sea of Light”. 

Noor-ul-Ain Diamond: 
The 60 carat pale pink diamond’s name means “the light of the eye”. The diamond resides in the Iranian tiara of the same name. 
The tiara was made for Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi’s wedding to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1958. The tiara was designed by Harry Winston and features 324 pink, yellow, and white diamonds set in platinum.