Most Expensive Famous Jewels: 10 Record Gems and Their Stories

The most expensive famous jewel ever sold at auction is the CTF Pink Star, a 59.60-carat pink diamond that sold for HK$553 million (about US$71.2 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2017, and Sotheby's still lists it as the auction record. The world's most celebrated jewels, however, such as the Hope Diamond, the Cullinan I (Great Star of Africa) and the Koh-i-Noor, have never been offered on the open market and are usually described as priceless. Below are ten of the most remarkable pieces: what they are, their history, their size, where they are today and, where one exists, their verified record price.

Key takeaways

Auction record: the CTF Pink Star (59.60 ct) sold for about US$71.2 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2017, still the highest price for any diamond or jewel at auction according to Sotheby's.
Blue diamonds are close behind: the Oppenheimer Blue (14.62 ct) made US$57.5 million at Christie's Geneva in May 2016.
The largest: the rough Cullinan weighed about 3,106 carats; its biggest cut stone, Cullinan I, weighs 530.2 carats and sits in the British Sovereign's Sceptre.
Priceless museum pieces: the Hope Diamond (Smithsonian), the Koh-i-Noor (Tower of London) and the Regent and Sancy (Louvre) are not for sale.
Pearls too: La Peregrina sold for US$11,842,500 at Christie's New York in 2011, which Guinness World Records lists as the most expensive pearl.
What drives value: rare natural colour, size, clarity and, above all, a documented royal or celebrity provenance.

Which jewel holds the world auction record?

The CTF Pink Star is a 59.60-carat oval diamond graded Fancy Vivid Pink by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). De Beers mined it in South Africa in 1999 as a 132.5-carat rough stone, and Steinmetz Diamonds spent about 20 months cutting it. A 2013 sale in Geneva fell through when the buyer failed to pay.

On 4 April 2017 it was offered again at Sotheby's Hong Kong and sold for HK$553 million including buyer's premium, about US$71.2 million. The buyer, Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai Fook, renamed it the CTF Pink Star. According to Sotheby's, it remains the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction. The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star is second, at about US$57.5 million (Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2022).

Record coloured diamonds: the Oppenheimer Blue, Graff Pink and Winston Blue

Strongly coloured diamonds are far rarer than white ones, which is why they dominate the auction records.

The Oppenheimer Blue

This 14.62-carat Fancy Vivid blue diamond (VVS1 clarity) once belonged to Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a senior figure in the De Beers diamond syndicate. Christie's Geneva sold it on 18 May 2016 for US$57.5 million, at the time the highest price ever paid for a jewel at auction, according to National Jeweler and GIA (2016).

The Graff Pink

The Graff Pink weighed 24.78 carats when it was sold, graded Fancy Intense pink and of the very pure type IIa. On 16 November 2010 Sotheby's Geneva sold it for about US$46 million (CHF 45.44 million) to the London jeweller Laurence Graff, who gave it his name and later had it recut to 23.88 carats, according to Sotheby's.

The Winston Blue

The Winston Blue is a 13.22-carat Fancy Vivid blue diamond graded flawless by GIA in 2014. Christie's Geneva sold it on 15 May 2014 for US$23.8 million, about US$1.8 million per carat. The buyer was Harry Winston, Inc., which named the stone after its founder.

The Hope Diamond: why is it so famous?

The Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian — The 45.52-carat Hope Diamond in its pendant setting, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. — Photo: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and has a rare dark greyish-blue colour caused by traces of boron. The merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier brought the rough stone from India in 1666 and sold it to Louis XIV, for whom it became the "French Blue". It was stolen in 1792 during the French Revolution, probably recut, and reappeared in the collection of the banker Henry Philip Hope, which gave it its name in an 1839 catalogue.

Pierre Cartier sold it in 1911 to the American heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean; Harry Winston bought her collection in 1949 and donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. It is on permanent display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

How big is the Cullinan, the Great Star of Africa?

The rough Cullinan diamond (3,106 carats) shortly after its discovery in 1905 — Photo: unknown author, from Julius Wodiska, A Book of Precious Stones (1909), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Cullinan is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. It was discovered in 1905 at the Premier mine in the Transvaal (now South Africa) and weighed about 3,106 carats, around 621 grams. The Transvaal government bought it and presented it to King Edward VII in 1907. From 1908 the Amsterdam firm I.J. Asscher and Company cut it into nine large stones and about 100 smaller ones, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The largest, Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, weighs 530.2 carats and was set in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross in 1910. Historic Royal Palaces describes it as the largest colourless cut diamond in the world. The second, Cullinan II (317.4 carats), sits on the front band of the Imperial State Crown. Both are part of the Crown Jewels on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

The Imperial State Crown

The Imperial State Crown is worn by the monarch at the State Opening of Parliament. According to Historic Royal Palaces, it is set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies and 269 pearls and weighs over one kilogram. Its famous stones include Cullinan II, St Edward's Sapphire and the Black Prince's Ruby, which is in fact a red spinel.

Why is the Koh-i-Noor so controversial?

Replica of the Koh-i-Noor — A replica of the Koh-i-Noor displayed in Mumbai (the original is in the Tower of London) — Photo: aiva., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Koh-i-Noor ("Mountain of Light" in Persian) weighs 105.6 carats today. Its early history is uncertain; the first reliable records place it among the treasures Nader Shah of Persia carried off from Delhi in 1739. It later passed to the Durrani rulers of Afghanistan and, in 1813, to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire. Under the Treaty of Lahore of 1849 it was surrendered to the British, and the East India Company presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850.

In 1852 Prince Albert had it recut, reducing it from 186 old carats to its present weight. Since 1937 it has been set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, displayed at the Tower of London. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran have all claimed the stone at various times, while the British government maintains that it was acquired legally under the 1849 treaty.

The French Crown Jewels: the Regent and the Sancy

The Regent diamond at the Louvre — The 140.64-carat Regent diamond, Louvre, Paris — Photo: Tangopaso, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Regent is a 140.64-carat diamond found in India in 1698. Thomas Pitt, governor of Madras, bought it in 1701 and had it cut in London. In 1717 Philippe d'Orléans, Regent of France, bought it for the French Crown for £135,000, which gave the stone its name. Napoleon later had it mounted on the hilt of his sword. It has been on display at the Louvre since 1887. During the robbery at the Louvre's Apollo Gallery on 19 October 2025, thieves took eight pieces of 19th-century royal jewellery valued at about €88 million by the Paris prosecutor, but left the Regent behind.

The Sancy diamond at the Louvre — The 55.23-carat Sancy diamond, Apollo Gallery, Louvre, Paris — Photo: Tangopaso, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Sancy is a pale yellow diamond of 55.23 carats. It takes its name from Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy, who lent it to Henry III and Henry IV of France. James I of England bought it in 1605, Cardinal Mazarin acquired it in 1657 and left it to the French Crown, and the Astor family owned it from 1906. In 1978 the 4th Viscount Astor sold it to the Louvre for US$1 million, and it is displayed in the Apollo Gallery near the Regent.

La Peregrina: the world's most expensive pearl

La Peregrina is a natural, pear-shaped pearl of about 50.56 carats (202.24 grains), said to have been found in the Gulf of Panama. It belonged to a succession of Spanish kings beginning with Philip II in the late 16th century, then passed to Joseph Bonaparte and, around 1848, to the Dukes of Abercorn, according to Sotheby's. Richard Burton bought it at auction in 1969 for US$37,000 as a gift for Elizabeth Taylor, who later had Cartier design a new necklace for it.

At the sale of Taylor's jewellery at Christie's New York on 13 December 2011, La Peregrina sold for US$11,842,500, which Guinness World Records lists as the most expensive pearl.

Famous jewels compared: summary table

Jewel	Type and weight	Where it is now	Record price or status
CTF Pink Star	Fancy Vivid pink diamond, 59.60 ct	Chow Tai Fook (private)	HK$553m / about US$71.2m, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2017
Oppenheimer Blue	Fancy Vivid blue diamond, 14.62 ct	Private buyer	US$57.5m, Christie's Geneva, 2016
Williamson Pink Star	Pink diamond, 11.15 ct	Private buyer	HK$453m / about US$57.5m, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2022
Graff Pink	Fancy Intense pink diamond, 24.78 ct (now 23.88 ct)	Graff (private)	About US$46m, Sotheby's Geneva, 2010
Winston Blue	Fancy Vivid blue diamond, 13.22 ct	Harry Winston	US$23.8m, Christie's Geneva, 2014
La Peregrina	Natural pearl, about 50.56 ct	Private buyer	US$11.84m, Christie's New York, 2011
Hope Diamond	Blue diamond, 45.52 ct	Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.	Donated 1958; never auctioned
Cullinan I	Colourless diamond, 530.2 ct	Sovereign's Sceptre, Tower of London	Crown Jewels; not for sale
Koh-i-Noor	Diamond, 105.6 ct	Queen Mother's Crown, Tower of London	Crown Jewels; ownership disputed
Regent and Sancy	Diamonds, 140.64 ct and 55.23 ct	Louvre, Paris	French national collection

What links these stones is intense natural colour (vivid pinks and blues fetch the highest prices per carat), large size with high clarity, and a documented provenance that no laboratory grade can capture.

How Yazdan Invest can help

Through Yazdan Jewellery, Yazdan Invest works with jewellery designers in France and around the world, and is setting up gold supply from Italy. The lessons of the great jewels — exceptional materials, skilled design and a clear history — also guide contemporary design. To learn more about our design work, see the design in France project, or contact us to discuss jewellery design, sourcing or trade partnerships.

This article is general information only and is not investment advice. Prices quoted are historical auction results and do not indicate future values.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction?

The CTF Pink Star, a 59.60-carat Fancy Vivid pink diamond, sold for HK$553 million (about US$71.2 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 4 April 2017. Sotheby's still describes it as the auction record for any diamond or jewel.

How much is the Hope Diamond worth?

There is no reliable figure because the Hope Diamond has never been sold at auction and belongs to the Smithsonian Institution, which received it from Harry Winston in 1958. Published estimates vary widely and should be treated as speculation.

Where is the Cullinan diamond now?

The two largest stones cut from it are in the British Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. Cullinan I (530.2 carats) is in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross and Cullinan II (317.4 carats) is in the Imperial State Crown.

Who owns the Koh-i-Noor?

The 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor is part of the British Crown Jewels and is set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran have claimed it at different times, while the UK government says it was acquired lawfully under the 1849 Treaty of Lahore.

Was the Regent diamond stolen from the Louvre in 2025?

No. In the robbery of 19 October 2025, thieves took eight pieces of royal jewellery from the Apollo Gallery, valued at about €88 million by the Paris prosecutor, but the 140.64-carat Regent was left behind.