Diamonds are one of nature’s most magnificent creations. It’s no surprise that they’ve been dubbed “fountains of light” and “stars of hope” because they reflect light from their edges. The most valuable of all gemstones, the price of a diamond is determined by a variety of characteristics including the number of reflecting edges, color, clarity, weight, and historical and cultural value. The wealthy and powerful continue to compete for them, and the most valuable jewels have frequently been the prized possessions of kings and gods.

There are a lot of diamonds in the world, but only a handful of them have high prices and a long history.

Lists Of Top 5 Most Expensive Diamonds In The World 2026

1. THE KOH-I-NOOR DIAMOND – PRICELESS

In Persian, Koh-i-Noor means ‘Mountain of Light,’ which describes the prominence this stone has held since its reported discovery in the 1300s in India’s Golconda diamond mines. It was the world’s largest diamond until 1852, when Prince Albert reduced it from 105.6 carats to 86 carats in order to improve its brilliance and glitter.

2. The Sancy Diamond – Priceless

A pale yellow diamond in the shape of a shield, the Sancy. It’s one of the first huge diamonds to have symmetrical facets cut out of it. It has an odd shape due to the lack of a pavilion and only two crowns. While legend has it that it belonged to the Mughals, the shape suggests that it is of Indian origin, which is plausible given that most diamonds were mined in Golconda until the discovery of the Kimberley and American mines.

3. The Cullinan Diamond: $400 million

The Cullinan Diamond is currently a collection of 105 stones of all shapes and sizes. The massive diamond, which originally weighed 3,106.75 carats, was discovered in 1905 in the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa.

4. The Hope Diamond -$350 million

This 45.52 carat diamond was discovered in the 1600s in the Kollur mines of Andhra Pradesh, India, and was named after the Hope banking family of London, who bought it in 1839.

5. The De Beers Centenary Diamond -$100 million

The De Beers Centenary diamond, at 273.85 carats, is the third largest from the Premier Mine, which also produced the Cullinan Diamond. However, the original was a whopping 599 carats. It boasts the highest Grade D color rating from the Gemological Institute of America, and it is flawless both internally and externally.