The World's Most Expensive Diamond - The Wittelsbach Diamond

The Wittelsbach Diamond is a 31.06 carat Graff (6.21 g) Fancy Deep Blue Diamond flawless clarity. Lawrence Graff bought Wittelsbach Diamond 2008 for 16.4 million pounds. In 2010, revealed that he had disposed of with Graff Diamonds Diamond Dealers Cut to three deficiencies. The diamond was now more than four carats lighter and was renamed Diamond Wittelsbach Graff. It is controversial as critics say the crop has changed, that the diamond has been adversely affected its historic integrity Scramble

The original Diamond Bavaria, also known as The Blue Wittelsbach was a famous 35.56 carat (7.11 g) Fancy Deep Blue Diamond Grayish with VS2 clarity that both the Austrian and Bavarian Crown Jewels had been.

had the color and clarity, the Hope Diamond has been compared. [Edit] The diamond was measured 24.40 mm (0.961 in) in diameter and 8.29 mm (0.326 in) deep. He was 82 facets arranged in a pattern atypical. The star facets on the crown were divided vertically and the pavilion was sixteen needle-like facets, arranged in pairs, pointing outward from the Facet Culet.

The diamond comes from the mines of the ancient Indian kingdom of Golconda. The history of King Philip IV of Spain bought the jewelry and that is apocryphal in the dowry her teenage daughter, Margaret Teresa in 1664. The first time was the diamond is known about fifty years later, when she was in Vienna. He was in possession of the Habsburgs and was in Monaco in 1722, when Charles married Maria Amalia of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach.

In 1745, the Wittelsbach Diamond mounted for the first time at the behest of the Elector of Bavaria of the Golden Fleece. As was Maximilian IV Joseph von Wittelsbach was the first king of Bavaria in 1806, instructed the royal crown, the diamond is clearly visible. Until 1918, the gem was in the beginning of the Bavarian crown. E 'was last in public at the funeral of Ludwig III of Bavaria seen in 1921.

The Wittelsbach family were trying to sell the diamond in 1931 during the Great Depression, but found no buyer. Eventually sold in 1951. [Edit In 1958], the stone at the World Exhibition in Brussels was shown. In 1960 the family Goldmuntz Komkommer Joseph, a jeweler, newly polished diamonds, but asked to recognize the historic significance of the stone and rejected. Instead, he bought along with the merchants. The diamond was in a private collection since 1964. Later it was learned that acquired by Helmut Horten, his wife Heidi will present at her wedding.

On 10 December 2008 was the 35.56 carat Wittelsbach Diamond to Lawrence Graff of London jeweler for 16.4 million pounds, or U.S. $ 23,400,000, the highest price ever paid at auction sold a diamond. The previous record was held by a pear-shaped stone of 100 carats as the star of the season.