Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The World's Biggest Diamonds)

Royalty is always connected with spectacular jewellery steeped in history. In ages past, Royalty attracted amazing jewels like a magnet. They either gained it through, conquest, tribute, gifts, inheritance or just plain purchase. The link between the ruling class and jewellery will never be erased. Today it has become time to discuss this fantastic topic in the vein of a list of the world's largest diamonds. We will begin with the smallest and work our way up to the largest.

First up we have a brooch owned by the Imperial Family Trust which is the foundation that manages what used to be the Crown Jewels of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. Many pieces in this collection were destroyed by the 96 Revolution but Empress Crystobel also managed to save some of the most important and valuable pieces. 

The Star Diamond, set in the star shaped brooch worn by the Crown Princess Imperial as a Stomacher is a 45ct top quality specimen. Its origins are obscured by history as it has been in the possession of the monarchs of Scotney for near on a thousand years. It was first recorded in a "Lyst off the Crowne Jewels" in 1099. Legends claim that the stone was a gift to the nation of Scotney from the nuns of Arcwhite but no proof of this exists. Chemical analysis of the stone has revealed it to be of Normandian origin. 

Next we visit the private collection of the Baron D'Rothchild. 

This diamond is brand new as it was only mined in 2010. It has been dubbed the D'Rothchild Diamond and it is a above average quality 48cts stone. It was bought purely as a gift from the current Baron D'Rothchild to his wife. Gossip abounds of how it might have been a placation due to all the jewellery the Baron's mother sold off at auction, depleting the future jewellery stores of the family. 

The Kingdom of Hispania boasts some impressive diamonds in their Crown Jewel Collection. These are not the private property of the monarch or the Royal family but are kept in trust by the government for future generations of Royals and the nation as a whole. 

The King Carlos X Crown Diamonds Diadem is set with 9 large diamonds in the base, averaging 58cts each. The size of these diamonds may rate this tiara as one of the most valuable in the world. The tiara may be seen as the signature tiara for Hispania and its queens, be they regents or consorts. It is also often used as a sort of Consort Crown when the King's wife requires one. The diamonds were a gift from the former Hispanian colony of  Peru on the celebration of their independence in 1919. The amicable relations between the nations made for this gift to be a poignant one and has afforded this tiara its historic status. 

Ruskiana as a country that boasts vast natural wealth of which their diamond deposits are considered to be the second most abundant in the world. It stands to reason that we will see several diamonds in this post with a Ruskian connection.

Some of the Youssopoff family jewels haven't been seen since before the Great War much less the 96 Revolution and some might even have been sold. This demi-parure, consisting of earrings and necklace was allowed to be documented specifically for this blog post. The Youssopoff  Marquis Cut Diamond demi-parure consists of three large oblong shaped diamonds with an average size of  59cts each. The current Princess has only worn the earrings once, baffling the public as rumours of these stones were all that existed. Chemical analysis of the stones reveal their Ruskian origin and the manufacture of the jewellery and the stone cutting techniques place the set's manufacture around the early 1800's. Now we just have to wait until they are worn by our style diva, Princess Kirsten.

The former Empire of Perlistan displayed vast wealth and grandeur at its court in the ages preceding the 96 Revolution. Suffice it to say that to this day, hints of that glory remain, partly in museums and dispersed over the world and partly still in the inheritance of the current pretender to the Imperial Peacock Throne. 

An ancient legend tells of how the great warrior Emperor Shah Ahurah killed a dragon in the year 989 and discovered a huge diamond in its belly. As the red hot stone cooled it was said to break into 4 parts that ended up being known to history as the Perlistan Diamonds. Today, three of those stones the Perlistan II, III and IV, weighing 65cts, 34cts and 31cts are set in the Pahlavi Tiara owned by the Shahbanou Farah of Perlistan. 

The Hispanian Ducal Family of Aragon owns a large diamond not of Europan origin. 

The 72cts Star of South Africania Diamond was mined in the 1920's and used to belong to the wealthy Van Der Bilt Family. Before the Van Der Bilt heiress, Gloria, even knew that she would end up becoming Queen of Normandia she was still the head of the vast family fortune. Sometimes even the very wealthy are in need of ready cash and in 2009 this calamity hit Gloria Van Der Bilt. She needed liquid cash for an immediate business venture and as such decided to sell some jewellery to raise the funds. She opted for the so called Van Der Bilt Diamond Collar containing the famous The Star of South Africania Diamond. The extremely valuable set was sold with its matching earrings in a private sale raising the much needed cash flow. As the sale of the necklace was private, it wasn't even known by the public that it was sold. It was later however revealed along with its new owner when the Hispanian, Duchess of Aragon wore her new set to a movie premiere in 2009.

The Islands of Arcwhite have at times attracted many tributes of jewellery. The Islands location made it a stop on many shipping routes and as such many gems ended up in their coffers or in turn were taken away by raiding forces. In modern times, the vast corporate wealth of the Order of the Veil have allowed the office of the Lady Arcwhite to own and display some truly valuable pieces of jewellery. 

The Perlistan Diamond or Perlistan I, is the 74cts, and largest piece of the before mentioned Perlistani Crown Diamonds. The Pahlavi necklace containing the Perlistan I is rumoured to be one of the most expensive necklaces ever made and is sure to get most of the attention whenever it is worn. This very famous necklace acquired by the current Lady Arcwhite from the Shahbanou of Perlistan, exiled after the Bloody Revolution toppled that monarchy.

Lady Arcwhite also owns a large Brown Diamond known as the Pirate's Eye. 

The Arcwhite Brown Diamond Tiara is set with the tenth largest Diamond in the world. Nr 10 - is the 75ct  Pirate's Eye. The diamonds is reputed to be cut from a single stone along with the other brown diamonds that form part of the Hanoverian Brown Diamond Parure to be discussed next. This has never been verified through chemical analysis. The Pirate's Eye came to Arcwhite when a raiding fleet of pirates attempted to ransack the Monasery of the Veil on Arcwhite in 1690. They failed miserably and ended up losing their treasure to the nuns rather than adding the nuns treasure to their spoils. The stone was said to have been won in a gamble that a Hispanian Prince lost to the Pirate Captain. 

Hanoveria's Grand Ducal Crown Jewels include the 9th largest Diamond in the world and a smaller sister stone. 

Nr 9 - is the 78cts Hanoverian Brown Diamond set in the parure with the same name and coupled with its 69cts sister stone set in the necklace. HRH Princess Beatrice of Scotney received the Brown Diamond Tiara with a brooch bearing the twin brown stone on her 18^th birthday as her first Tiara, from her father Prince Christopher, Duke of Norrington. He received the brown diamonds as part of his inheritance as a Prince of the Blood of Hispania upon his marriage to Queen Crystobel I of Scotney. Princess Beatrice married the Grand Duke of Hanoveria and the Brown Diamonds followed her to become part of the extensive Hanoverian jewellery collection.

The Kingdom of Normandia had the benefit of the Van Der Bilt jewellery being amalgamated to the country's Crown Jewel Collection when Gloria Van Der Bilt became their Queen. 

Mined in the 1920's is Nr 8 - the 86cts Van Der Bilt Cognac Diamond. The Van Der Bilt Diamond Necklace, was made especially to contain the famous diamond. This stone has been in the Van Der Bilt Family for almost a hundred years since Queen Gloria's grand father bought it in the late 1920's and gave it as a gift to his wife, many say for penitence for his many marital indiscretions. Gloria inherited the stone upon her father's death and now wears it as Queen of Normandia.

Back in Hispania we find the 7th largest diamond and largest brown coloured diamond as part of the Hispanian Crown jewels.

Nr 7 - is the 90cts Shard of Dusk Diamond. In the days of the Hispanian conquest of the South Americanians many legends emerged of fabulous cities of gold, gargantuan gem stones and mythical creatures. Very few were founded in fact but some did have measures of truth. diamonds are not readily found in the South Americanias but they do exist. This specimen is of a rare smokey colour and quite large. It was reputed to be a ceremonial offering brought annually to the Sun Temple in order for it to refract the light of the holy sun. When the Conquistadors arrived in their armour, blazingly reflecting the light, the indigenous people offered up the stone to them and it found its way to the Hispanian Court. It is today rarely worn as some controversy surrounds the call for its return to its native land. In the photo above, Princess Isabella wore it in 2009 to a movie premiere and made news headlines for it. 

The very wealthy Duke of Swann was sure to be found on this list as much for his appreciation of jewellery as for his inheritance of the spectacular Swann Crown Jewel Collection.

The Swann I is Nr 5 - at 162cts and the Swann II is Nr 11 - at 69cts on our list of large diamonds. The famous "Swann Diamond" is set in the centre of the Swann Tiara and its smaller "sister" stone in the necklace. This set hasn't been worn since the last Duchess of Swann wore it before the Bloody Revolution but remains as part of the Swanobian Crown Jewels. The diamond's chemical analysis shows that it was mined in Normandia and it first appeared in history in the 1700's as part of the Scotney Crown Jewels. It was then given to the Prince who became the first semi-independent Duke of Swann upon his accession to the newly created throne. 

The United Empire of Scot-Britania's Crown jewel Collection is currently managed by the Imperial Family Trust headed up by Empress Crystobel. It acts as curator of the jewels in the hope of a future restoration of the monarchy. 

 Nr 4 - the 201cts Imperial Diamond and Nr 6 - the 158cts Star of Africania are massive stones indeed and form part of the Imperial Diamond Parure. The original earrings that matched the set were lost in the revolution but at least major diamonds survived along with the Tiara and necklace. 

The Imperial Diamond Tiara set with the 6th largest diamond in the world was thought destroyed in the revolution but after not being seen for over 12years, was worn by the current Crown Princess Imperial at her wedding in 2010. The Imperial Diamond entered the Imperial collection set in the tiara of the same name as a tribute from the Trans Europan Council to the new Empire as a belated thank you for the sacrifices made by the nations of Scotney and Britania during the Great War. The tiara was originally made for the Germanic Kaizer's wife who never wore it as that monarchy was toppled for starting the Great War. The necklace was made to compliment the tiara using the world famous Star of Africania Diamond that was purchased by the King of Britania for his son as a wedding present in 1986. The two stones have not been worn together in public since the revolution but was worn for the portrait above only. 

The Diamond with the most obscure origin is in the Crown Jewels of Swann Collection.

The Nr 3 - 223cts Tear of the Swan Diamond is named for the discovery of the diamond. A maid in Dukes Court Palace broke a medieval porcelain statuette of a dying swan in 2005 by accident. The priceless artifact however revealed the diamond which immediately compensated for the historic loss of the statuette. The Duke of Swann's Office of Historical Research has to as yet discover the story behind the statuette and the diamond but for now it is set in a necklace and kept in the vaults of the Crown Jewels. It has never been worn. 

This stone has one of the most contravertial histories of all valuable and historic gems in the world.

The Ruskian Imperial Collection, currently the private property of the pretender to the Ruskian Imperial Throne, boasts the second largest diamond in the world. It also ranks as the largest pink diamond in the world.

Nr 2 - the 341cts Tzar Nicholas I Pink Diamond is complimented in this photo by the 38cts and 36cts diamond drop earrings, also in the Imperial Collection. One of the only official pieces that belonged to an actual Empress Consort to survive the Great War and fall of the Ruskian Empire is the very famous and spectacular Tzar Nikolas I Pink Diamond Kokoshnik tiara. It could be seen as the premier and symbolically the most Ruskian of all the jewellery that survived the Ruskian Revolution. The Diamond was the central feature of the Imperial Crown Jewels. Legend has it that the Perlistani Sultan had a genie create the unnaturally large coloured diamond in order to flatter and tempt the Tzar into an armistice. The Tzar however gained it through drawing the Sultan into a sword match that cost him the stone and a finger. The diamond was set in the Tzar's Crown but following a decade of bad luck had it removed claiming that the Sultan had cursed it with its pink colour in order that a man could never wear it and be blessed as a man. Since then it was set in its current place in this tiara which was then seen as one of the many tiaras only worn by Empress Consorts. The Tiara was thought lost after the Ruskian Revolution but in reality was sent by Tzar Ivan X, the last reigning Emperor of Ruskia for repairs to the Court Jeweller weeks before the Revolution exploded in full force. The jeweller escaped with it to Franconia and kept it there in secret. He left it in his will to the nearest legal claimant to the throne of Ruskia and after his death in 1998 it was delivered to the Grand Duke of Hanoveria by his lawyers who in turn passed it on to his niece Xenia Alexandrovna.

The largest diamond in the world is part of the Crown Jewel Collection of the former United Empire of Scot Britania. 

Nr 1 - the 525cts Morning Star Diamond is the largest and also top quality white diamond in the world. It resides as the central feature in the Imperial Scepter of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. The Diamonds origins do not reside in the far recesses of history but are rather very recent. The stone was discovered mere months before the establishment of the new Empire and as such was purchased for the new co-Emperor and co-Empress as an Coronation Gift by the government of Scot-Britania with financial assistance from several friendly monarchies within Europa. It was handed over to the Imperial couple on the day the new constitutional Empire was established

This detail photo of the head of the Imperial Scepter shows the scale of the amazing stone that was discovered in the bush near a South Africanian mine.