A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF GEMSTONES

The Harlequin Prince black opal from Lightning Ridge, Australia, showing vivid green, blue and orange play-of-colour against a dark body tone
The Black Opal Jewel That Walked Behind the Queen — and Turns Into a Tiara, a Necklace and Five Brooches
Cartier's Devonshire black opal jewel, made in the late 1930s for Mary Cavendish, converts into a necklace, tiara and five brooches. Worn as a necklace at Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation,... Read more...
The sapphire diadem of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, with Ceylon sapphires surrounded by diamonds, photographed at the Louvre before the October 2025 theft
The Eight Crown Jewels Stolen From the Louvre in Eight Minutes — and Still Missing a Year Later
On 19 October 2025, thieves took eight French crown jewels from the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon in under eight minutes. A year later, the sapphire, emerald, pearl and diamond pieces are... Read more...
A gold ring set with a fancy yellow diamond, by Mauro Cateb
The 128-Carat Yellow Diamond That Has Never Been Sold — and Only Four Women Have Worn It
The Tiffany Diamond: a 287.42-carat rough stone found in Kimberley in 1877, cut to 128.54 carats by George Frederick Kunz, never sold, and worn by only four women — Mary... Read more...
Illustration of the head of the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, showing the large pear-shaped Cullinan I diamond at its centre
The 3,106-Carat Diamond That Was Mailed to a King — Then Cut Into Nine Stones
The Cullinan Diamond: a 3,106-carat rough found in South Africa in 1905, mailed to London in a plain box while a decoy sailed under guard, cut into nine major stones... Read more...
The 423-carat Logan Sapphire, a large cushion-cut blue sapphire from Sri Lanka framed by twenty diamonds
The 197-Carat Sapphire Worn at the Romanovs' Last Ball — and Heading to Auction in Geneva
The Romanov Sapphire: a 197.80-carat unheated Ceylon sapphire worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna at the 1903 Winter Palace ball, seized in the revolution, later owned by Ganna Walska, and... Read more...
The Wittelsbach-Graff diamond, a deep blue oval brilliant-cut stone
The 31-Carat Blue Diamond That Was Swapped for Glass — Then Cut Down to Perfection
The Wittelsbach-Graff: a 31.06-carat fancy deep blue diamond that spent centuries in Bavaria's crown jewels, vanished from a 1931 auction after being swapped for blue glass, broke a world record... Read more...
Replica of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a large oval faceted clear stone on a dark base
The 105-Carat Diamond That Was Surrendered by a Child King — and Still Divides Nations
The Koh-i-Noor: a 105.6-carat diamond that passed from Mughal emperors to a Persian conqueror and a Sikh maharaja, was surrendered by a boy king in 1849, cut in half for... Read more...
The Regent Diamond, a 140.64-carat cushion-cut diamond, on display in the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon in Paris
The 140-Carat Diamond That Crowned Kings — and That Thieves Left Behind
The Regent Diamond: a 140.64-carat Golconda stone smuggled to London in a shoe, sold to the Regent of France in 1717, and left untouched by thieves in the 2025 Louvre... Read more...
The Star of India, a 563.35-carat greyish-blue star sapphire, showing its six-rayed star
The 563-Carat Star Sapphire That Surfers Stole From a Museum — and Left in a Bus Station Locker
The Star of India is a 563.35-carat star sapphire from Sri Lanka, stolen from New York's American Museum of Natural History in 1964 and recovered months later in a Miami... Read more...
The 41-carat Dresden Green Diamond set in its historic diamond hat ornament
The 41-Carat Green Diamond That Was in New York When Thieves Raided Its Home
The Dresden Green Diamond: a 41-carat natural green diamond bought by Augustus III of Saxony in the 1740s, which survived war and a decade in Moscow — and escaped the... Read more...
The 45.52-carat Hope Diamond, a fancy dark grayish-blue diamond, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
The 45-Carat Blue Diamond That Was Mailed to a Museum for $2.44 in Postage
The Hope Diamond: a 45.52-carat blue diamond from India's Kollur Mine, stolen from French royalty, sold to a banking family, and mailed to the Smithsonian for $2.44 in postage. Read more...
The 423-carat Logan Sapphire, a cushion-cut unheated Ceylon blue sapphire in a diamond brooch, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
The 392-Carat Sapphire Meant for a Queen's Coronation — That Vanished for 35 Years
The Blue Belle of Asia: a 392.52-carat unheated Ceylon sapphire bought for a queen's coronation, lost for 35 years, and sold for a record $17.3 million at Christie's Geneva. Read more...