As a 20-carat pale orangy pink diamond, the Hortensia Diamond has an important place in color diamond history. The diamond is quite flat, rectangular, and is cut on five sides giving it a five-sided pavilion. Although famous, having belonged to the Crown Jewels of France and worn by the Queen of Holland, Hortense de Beauharnais, hence the diamond's name, the Hortensia Diamond is far from perfect. A crack that extends across the diamond, from the girdle's edge to the beginning of the culet, brought down the 1791 value of the stone to just 48,000 livres.

The History

In September of 1972, the Hortensia Diamond was one of many jewels stolen from the Garde Meuble, only to be discovered a year later in the attic of a house in the Parisian district of Halles. From Napolean's epaulette braid to Empress Eugenie's diamond-encrusted comb, the Hortensia found its place in many respectable ornaments. After being stolen in 1830 and found again, the Hortensia managed to be one of the few jewels excluded from the French Crown Jewels when they were sold in 1887. The Hortensia is currently housed at the Louvre in Paris, France.

Orangy Pink Diamonds

Pink diamonds are amongst the rarest of all pink diamonds. Owing their unique romantic color to plastic deformation in the crystal lattice structure of the stone, pink diamonds can be found with a pure hue in a variety of intensity levels, or with secondary colors such as orange. Although it is preferable for a stone to display one pure color, when it comes to pink diamonds, even those with other colors present can be considered extremely rare and valuable. Orange diamonds are also on the rare side, so a stone combining these two colors is still a rare find.

Orangy Pink Diamonds

Different intensities and shades of orangy pink diamonds. From left to right:

Fancy Brownish Orangy Pink, Fancy Deep Brownish Orangy Pink, Fancy Light Orangy Pink, Fancy Orangy Pink, Fancy Intense Orangy Pink, Fancy Vivid Orangy Pink, Fancy Deep Orangy Pink

Other Famous Orangy Pink Diamonds

Although there aren't any famous orangy pink diamonds, which is part of why the Hortensia Diamond is so famous, there are other famous pink and orange diamonds, as well as pink diamonds with secondary colors. The Martian Pink, the Skull Star Diamond, and the Pink Star are all examples of famous pink diamonds. The Pumpkin diamond is one of the only famous orange diamonds, but stones such as the Great Chrysanthemum Diamond the Koi Diamond are instances of famous diamonds that also display an orange color. The Star of the South is a famous brown diamond, classified as a light pinkish-brown diamond.

Leibish Orangy Pink Diamonds

LEIBISH is known around the world for its wide range of color diamonds and unique color diamond jewelry, including pink diamonds and even orangy pink stones. One of LEIBISH's most extravagant pieces actually includes an orangy pink diamond. The extraordinary fancy orangy pink cushion diamond ring displays a 1.63-carat fancy orangy pink diamond and is set in 18K rose gold with colorless and fancy pink diamonds surrounding the center stone. It is truly a magnificent jewel that can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys undeniable beauty.

The Hortensia Diamond

The History

Orangy Pink Diamonds

Other Famous Orangy Pink Diamonds

Leibish Orangy Pink Diamonds