20 facts behind some of the most dazzling gems in human history

Jewels are accessories much admired by women — and why not say, by men too! In the history of humanity they have always been present, being used as an adornment and even to signal the status Social. Influential characters such as queens, emperors, tsars and of course celebrities have always used them. It’s hard not to succumb to a priceless and uniquely beautiful piece. And the best thing is to know that behind each jewel, there is an interesting story.

O awesome.club could not resist the fascination of diamonds, pearls, emeralds and other precious stones, and therefore decided to show you, the reader, some details of the most famous jewels of all time. Follow up!

The Spanish aristocrat Eugenia de Montijo was married to Emperor Napoleon III, grandnephew of the famous Napoleon Bonaparte, and her weakness was buying jewelry.

With that, Eugenia acquired a huge collection, made up of tiaras, bracelets, necklaces, etc. Unfortunately, later on, she had to sell all the parts. But it is still possible to admire some of the jewels of French royalty on display at the Louvre Museum, such as this beautiful diadem.

This iconic femme fatale from the cinema, she was passionate about jewelry and acquired a wide variety of pieces from the best brands. But she had a reason for this, as she came from a family of watchmakers and jewelers.

The Jarretière bracelet became known because the actress wore it during the filming of Alfred Hitchcock’s feature film, Fear Behind the Scenes, in 1950. But when her life full of luxuries led to bankruptcy, the actress had to auction her jewelry, leaving only this beautiful bracelet of rubies and diamonds.

The pearl necklace by the famous Mikimoto brand was a wedding gift from baseball player Joe DiMaggio to Marilyn Monroe. Even after the divorce, the actress kept the necklace as a souvenir. But before his death, she gave the jewel to a friend. Later, the necklace was displayed to the public and then auctioned.

This huge yellow diamond, which appears to have a light of its own, was discovered in a mine in South Africa and acquired by jeweler Tiffany & Co. The piece stands out for its enormous size and color, but it only became world famous after actress Audrey Hepburn wore it in the film’s advertising campaign. luxury dollin 1961.

Two more people had the honor of wearing this beautiful stone. The first was socialite Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, who wore it set in a diamond necklace in 1957 at a Tiffany gala benefit. The second person was Lady Gaga, during the Oscars ceremony in 2019. In 1995, the diamond was attached to the “Bird on a Stone” brooch and displayed at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Today it is on display at Tiffany & Co’s flagship store, located on Fifth Avenue in New York, USA.

This diamond is among the largest in the world, and when it was found in a mine in South Africa, it weighed 621.35 grams. It was called the Cullinan, after the mine’s owner, but it is also known as the Star of the South, in reference to a diamond that appears in a book by Jules Verne.

In 1906, it was given as a gift to King Edward VII, who had it sculpted. 105 stones were cut from the original diamond and one of them decorates the Crown of the British Imperial State.

The piece is also called a blue diamond, because it presents this tonality, if seen with the naked eye. This particularity is due to the presence of boron in its composition, which gives it a very striking navy blue color. She became famous because, behind her beauty, there is a “curse”.

All the owners of this wonderful piece are said to have suffered fatal misfortunes. This curse is attributed to the fact that the diamond was stolen from the temple of an Indian goddess. Today the gem can be seen in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, USA.

This pearl, discovered by a Panamanian slave over 400 years ago, traveled through several countries until it reached the hands of the King of Spain, Felipe II. However, the name is not due to the displacement of the pearl, but to its unique shape, since, in past centuries, the word pilgrim meant “rare” or “special”. The pearl, which was part of Spanish royal jewelry, was placed on a necklace, next to an important diamond.

In 1969, the beautiful gem was auctioned and purchased by Richard Burton, to be given to his wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor, and remained with her until her death. The actress also wore the necklace with the pilgrim pearl in two of her films.

The fabulous necklace attributed to French Queen Marie Antoinette was never actually hers. This extraordinary jewel was reportedly commissioned by Louis XV to be given to his mistress, but he died before the necklace was completed. The jewelers in charge were willing to sell the piece once they were finished. The necklace had 647 diamonds and was valued at 9.8 million reais (1.5 million pounds).

A countess, who claimed to be a close friend of the queen, persuaded a cardinal to buy the jewel in Marie Antoinette’s name, with the aim of keeping it for her. The cardinal, driven by ambition to establish better relations with royalty, agreed. When the fraud was discovered by the new King Louis XVI and the queen, the cardinal was arrested and Marie Antoinette, totally innocent, was accused of squandering the royal fortune.

It was Diana Spencer herself, then Prince Charles’ girlfriend, who chose the ring that would seal the marriage commitment between the two. The gold ring with an oval sapphire surrounded by several diamonds belonged to the catalog of one of England’s oldest jewelers.

As it is part of a catalogue, there is controversy that this precious and emblematic jewel is not unique, as there are others similar in the world. But that didn’t seem to be a problem for the royals, as Lady Di’s son William presented his fiancée Kate Middleton with this ring.

This pink diamond was found in a mine in South Africa in 1999. It is one of the largest specimens of this color. It took the jewelers 20 months to carve it, because any wrong move could ruin the beauty of the stone.

In 2003, the gem was displayed in Monaco and was also part of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, alongside other beautiful, huge diamonds. The “Pink Star” became even more famous after being sold at auction for 378.592 million reais ($71.2 million) in 2017. This impressive sum made this diamond the most expensive jewel in the world.

The most expensive piece of jewelry that has ever walked the red carpet was worn by singer Carrie Underwood in 2013 at the Grammy awards🇧🇷 The 381-carat necklace, made up of white diamonds in different shapes, was created by jewelry designer Johnathon Arndt. This wonderful piece was valued at approximately 165 million reais.

This impressive necklace is a work of art by the Cartier company made especially for the Indian Maharaja of Patiala in 1928. It had five chains and a total of 2,930 diamonds, including the largest yellow diamond in the world to date. In the 1940s the necklace mysteriously disappeared from the royal treasury, reappearing in 1982 at an auction in Geneva.

In 1998, a Cartier representative found part of the necklace in a London jewelry store. The company acquired this part and the missing parts were replaced by similar ones. Today the necklace is displayed in the shop window in Paris.

The panther is a feline that serves as the inspiration for Cartier jewelry, being used in some of their most famous jewelry collections. This passion was born in 1914, when the company’s owners asked an artist to paint a poster, as an invitation to one of the jewelry’s exhibitions. The painter made a beautiful watercolor depicting an elegant woman with a panther at her feet.

From then on, the feline design appeared several times in precious jewelry created by the company, many of them acquired by world famous people. Cartier knew how to use the strength and freedom of the panther in each work, creating hugely successful jewelry.

Jacques Cartier has made numerous trips to India since taking over the family company in 1906, and has been inspired by the country’s culture to make colorful pieces adorned with rubies, emeralds and sapphires. This colorful style, combining different types of gemstones, was called “Tutti Frutti”.

Barbara Hutton, a member of New York aristocratic society, was one of the few wealthy women of the 20th century. When she married the Prince of Georgia, Alexis Mdivani, her father gave her a beautiful necklace with emerald green jade beads, with a ruby ​​and diamond clasp made by Cartier.

Some time later, the necklace was acquired at auction by this famous jeweler and is now part of its valuable collection. The jewel has not only an important historical value, but also a monetary value, as it cost Cartier the sum of 145.895 million reais.

María Félix, the Mexican cinema diva of the 40s and 50s, ordered a piece of jewelry from Cartier, of which she was a client. She wanted something unique, a crocodile necklace made from her favorite gemstones.

For the goldsmiths to do a perfect job, the actress took a baby crocodile in a jar, to serve as a model. It wasn’t the first time she’d made such a request. On other occasions, she had a snake-shaped necklace made, as she loved reptiles.

Suzanne Belperron was a famous 20th century jewelry designer. To create the pieces, she was inspired by flowers, fish, insects and, especially, the mysterious underwater world. She never signed her creations, saying that her original style was enough for the jewelry to be recognized anywhere.

Despite huge popularity at the time, it became forgotten after his death. Thanks to an auction held in Geneva with jewelry of her own, her name has resurfaced. In 2012, some of her pieces were chosen to adorn the Chanel collection.

The last Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahleví, commissioned a beautiful piece from Italian jeweler Bulgari. The necklace filled with gemstones was a gift to his second wife, Princess Soraya. The jewel full of sapphires, rubies, diamonds…