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The Idol's Eye
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A flattened pear shaped stone weighing 70.20 Carats,
was also probably set as the eye of an idol before it was
stolen. Legend also has it that it was given as ransom for
Princess Rasheetah by the Sheik of Kashmir to the Sultan of
Turkey who had abducted her. |
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The Taylor-Burton
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This pear-shaped diamond was sold at auction in 1969,
weighing 69.42 Carats, with the understanding that it could be
named by the buyer. Cartier of New York successfully bid for it
and immediately christened it "Cartier". However, the next day
Richard Burton bought and named this stone as a gift for Elizabeth
Taylor. It made its debut at a charity ball in Monaco in mid
November where Miss Taylor wore it as a pendant. In 1978,
Elizabeth Taylor announced that she was putting it up for sale
and planned to use part of the proceeds to build a hospital in
Botswana. Just to inspect the diamond, prospective buyers had to
pay $2,500 to cover the cost of showing it. In June 1979 it was
sold for nearly $3 million. It was last seen in Saudi Arabia. |
The Sancy
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This stone was first owned by Charles the Bold, duke of
Burgundy, who lost it in battle in 1477. The stone is in fact
named after a late owner, Seigneur de Sancy, a French Ambassador
to Turkey in the late 16th century. He loaned it to the French
King, Henry III, who wore it in the cap with which he
concealed his baldness. Henry IV of France also borrowed the
stone from Sancy, but it was sold in 1664 to James I of England.
In 1688, James II, last of the Stuart kings of England, fled with
it to Paris. It disappeared during the French revolution. |
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