Jewels have been present throughout history. Some of them became exquisite and unique pieces, so they had more fame than the women or men who wore them. Queens, kings, princesses, nobles, emperors, empresses...possessed many jewels. Many of them stood out for their extreme beauty, but others, besides their beauty, were said to be cursed. In this article, you will learn about the most famous jewels that ever existed. 

Only for special occasions 

Most of the unique jewelry were made just for special events. These days, the growing demand for period style jewelry causes the production of copies of the well-known pieces. Would you like to get a gift resembling any of the following? 

La Peregrina Pearl

It is the most famous pearl in the world because of its large size, its perfect teardrop shape, and its lovely pearly shine. It was discovered in the waters of Panama in the year 1515.

La Peregrina Pearl was offered to King Felipe II, who accepted it, so the pearl had to travel from Latin America to Europe. Later it fell into the hands of the queen of England, Maria Tudor, and with time it was possessed by Napoleón III. Many years later, in 1969, it landed to the private collection of the actress Elizabeth Taylor, as her birthday gift, made by her husband, Richard Burton.

Elizabeth Taylor died in 2011, so the pearl was auctioned and acquired for nine million euros, a record price in an auction.

Faberge Easter Eggs

It is an impressive collection of jewelry created between 1885 and 1917 by the Russian jeweler Carl Faberge for the Russian governors and other members of the nobility. 

Faberge was considered one of the best goldsmiths in the world. His designs encompassed different styles such as Renaissance, Greek, Baroque, Naturalist, Ancient Russian, Art Nouveau and Caricature.

After winning the gold medal for exhibiting his works in the Panrusa exhibition, Faberge achieved the position of official jeweler of the royal house.

In 1883, Czar Alexander III ordered a gift for his wife, which consisted several eggs of different sizes, where each smaller one was put inside the bigger one. This gift pleased the Czarina who asked the artist to make an egg every Easter.

Faberge created 69 luxury pieces, very different from each other. The eggs were made of several metals: nickel, copper, steel, gold, platinum, silver and paladin. The stones used during the production were also very diverse: sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds decorated the eggs.

The Ring of Lady Diana

One of the most famous jewels in history is Princess Diana's engagement ring, which was given to Duchess of Wales on the occasion of the marriage engagement with Prince Charles, in 1981. It is a white gold ring with an 18-carat sapphire. It has a deep blue tone, and it is surrounded by 14 small diamonds.

Three decades later, Prince Charles's son, William, gave the precious jewel to Kate Middleton when asking her to marry. The ring that belonged to the mythical Lady Diana became one of the most demanded and desired in the world. Many jewelry houses rushed to make replicas of the ring. Since then, the Ring of Lady Diana has increased its value to 336,480,000 euros.

The Hope Diamond 

The Hope Diamond is a deep blue diamond that is exhibited in the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. It has a brilliant blue color. It is estimated that it weighs 45 carats. The origin of this jewel is found in Indian culture, it was said that this jewel had once decorated the image of a Hindu goddess but then got stolen.

The only thing we know for sure is that Diamond Hope arrived in Europe in 1642 with the French smuggler Jean Baptiste Tavernier.

The diamond is known not only for its incomparable beauty but also for a horrible curse. Since everyone who has ever had the diamond suffered a tragic death or unexpected misfortunes. 

The gem became part of the French King Louis XIV collection. He reduced it from 112.5 to 67.5 carats to end its’ bad reputation. The king was lending this jewel among his friends, one of them was Nicholas Fouquet, who was accused of embezzlement and sentenced to life imprisonment. Princess Lambrelle was one of the people who wore it most and ended up beaten by the crowd, while the king himself died ruined and despised.

In 1980 the Diamond was purchased by the banker and collector Henry Thomas Hope, from whom it acquired the name, Hope Diamond. He got it for nothing less than $ 150,000. Later, due to bad business, his family ended up ruined, many of them caused the diamond.

Diamond’s last buyer, Harry Winston, chose to donate it to a Smithsonian Institution, to which it still belongs today. Currently, it is exhibited in the  National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution.

As the stories show, precious stones do radiate irresistible attraction upon anyone near. They can be addictive. Double think before you touch a black pearl or a shiny diamond next time.