Radical Rocks and
their Amazing Stories!
We
will go over a list of 10 radical rocks and their stories. What makes a rock
radical? It could be that it is one of a kind, but I guess they are all one of
a kind. So, it could be that it is the largest, the rarest, highest quality, or
it could be the story that the rock comes with? Radical rocks will be gemstones
in this article, however radical rocks are of all sorts in my world. They may
be the plain black tourmaline crystal my daughter found in the yard, or the one
of a kind geodes I found at the Hauser bed. Or maybe it’s the one in the yard
that my grandmother picked up in Boron, or the New Mexico Geode my Mom picked
up at a trading post because she knew I loved rocks. Let’s dig into this
incredible list of radical rocks. (Links and references below along with our
links and free Rock & Gem group)
1.The
Black Orlov
The
Black Orlov was found in the 1800s in India, it was cushion cut to 67.50 carat,
and it is a deep dark gunmetal gray almost black in color. This gem was said to
be cursed. It was stolen from a sacred shrine in India, from the eye of Brahma,
the Hindu god of creation, wisdom and magic. Legend continues that a Russian
Princess Nadia Orlov acquired the stone that became her name sake. Princess
Nadia and two other owners of the stone are said to have committed suicide
shortly after owning the gem. In 1947 Charles F. Winson had it set in a
beautiful necklace. Several owners of the gem proceeded, and it has been in museum
displays, including the American Museum of natural History and the London,
Natural history Museum.
2.The
Black Prince Ruby
The
Black Prince ruby (Photo above) is not a ruby, it is a Spinel of a brilliant red, and is believed
to have been mined from Badakshan, known today as Tajikistan possibly in the
14th century. The stone is known as the “great impostor”. It was said to have
been taken from the Moorish Kingdom of Granada as spoils by Don Pedro the
Cruel, ruler of Seville, Spain. Then the Gem was obtained by the Black Prince a
war hero of the “Hundred years war” Edward of Woodstock. King Henry V then
became owner and had the gem placed on his battle helmet along with other real
rubies, then as he wore the gems, he defeated the French at the Battle of
Agincourt. Then the gem was passed to Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I,
King Charles was later beheaded in 1649 for treason and the stone was sold,
Charles the II bought it back, and almost lost it, when Irish colonel Thomas
Blood Tried to steal the crown jewel from the tower of London in 1671.
The
Blue Diamond, and its current location is unknown, much drama and stories
continue to this day. The story is that a janitor at the Saudi royal family’s
palace stole the blue gem. He hid the gem in his vacuum cleaner bag. It said
that the thief was caught and some of the gems returned, but not the Blue
Diamond, some claim the gem never existed. Some of the Thai officials were
mysteriously murdered or ended up missing as they were investigating. In 1995
Chalor Kerdthes the police officer in charge of the first investigation, was
sentenced to death for the murder of the wife and 14-year-old son of the Thai
jeweler who was accused of making the returned gems that ended up being fake!
This gem carries a curse to those that are not its rightful owner!
4.The
Delhi Purple Sapphire
The
Delhi Purple Sapphire was not a sapphire, it was a violet amethyst, basically
quartz. The legend says the stone was stolen by a British solder from the
Temple of India, this temple was dedicated to the god of war and weather, in
1857 during the “Indian Mutiny”. The stone was taken to England by Colonel W
Ferris, and his family was said to have suffered the curse, of financial and
health afflictions. In 1890 Edward Heron-Allen, a scientist and writer became
the owner, gave the stone to a friend that claimed the gem brought him bad
luck, and quickly returned the gem back. Edward Heron-Allen then claimed
“accursed and is stained with the blood and dishonor of everyone who has ever
owned it” he then kept it locked up in seven boxes with good luck charms
surrounding it. It was later donated and has made its way to the Natural
History Museum’s Vault collection of gemstones.
5.The
Hope Diamond
Several
radical diamonds have amazing stories, the Hope Diamond is no exception. It was
mined in India at the Kollur mine in the 17th century. It was cut
from the Tavernier blue diamond. The beautiful dark blue color comes from small
trace boron. The total weight of the hope diamond is 45.52 carats. The diamond
has had many historical owners, including, King Louis XIV of France, King George
IV of England, and other famous persons. The hope diamond’s story continues
with a “curse. The curse was said to bring bad luck and tragedy to anyone that
owns or wears the beautiful gem. Several owners were murdered, hung to death,
imprisoned or even committed suicide. This rumor was likely propagated by
sellers to create hype around the gem.
6.The Koh-I-Noor Diamond
The
Koh-I-Noor Diamond also known as the “Mountain of light”. It was mined in India
in the 13th century, and weighed 793 carats, before being cut to
105.6 carats. After being cut Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert did not
think much of this flawless diamond and it was later set in the front of the
Queen Mothers Crown and is displayed in the Tower of London. This diamond also
came with a curse that seem to cause men turmoil and disputes prior to arriving
in England, thus it was only worn by females of the royal family.
The
La Peregrina Pearl
The
La Peregrina pearl, which means “pilgrim” or “wonderer” was said to have been
discovered by a African Slave girl, who located the pearl on the Gulf of Panama
island of Santa Margarita, in the 16th century, it was a 55.95 Carat
pearl and it was perfectly symmetrical. The slave girl received freedom for
finding the pearl. For some 300 years the pearl wondered from owner to owner,
as its name sake “the wonderer”. In 1969 Richard Burton bought it for $307,000
as a Valentine’s Day gift for his wife “Elizabeth Taylor” She proceeded to lose
it in a couch at the Windsor Castle, and once at a Hotel only to find her dog
had it in his mouth!
7.The
Star of Africa
The
Star of Africa also known as the “Cullinan Diamond” discovered in 1905 and
located in South Africa, at 3,106.75 carats. It was at that time two times
bigger than another diamond, it was cut into nine pieces, and the largest piece
became known as “The Great Star of Africa. The Great Star of Africa was to be
given to King Edward VII as a show of support between Africa and the UK, the
diamond was sent in a regular package by regular registered post, and at the
same time a fake diamond was sent by steam boat in a safe with security
guarding the decoy!
8.The
Star of India
The
Star of India is considered one of the rarest gems in all the world. Possibly
found in the 1600’s, it was found in India but turned up at an exhibition in
Paris in 1900, it is a 563.35 carat star sapphire stone. It is a supper rare
deep blue transparent six-pointed star, even more amazing is that it has a
stare on each side. This stone mysteriously appeared and then was stolen in
1964, as the alarm failed and the thieves got away with many gems from the
museum, however two days later the thieves were found, and months later the
thieves confessed and the gem was found in a bus station locker in Miami
Florida, and is now safe and hopefully with a working alarm system!
9.Taylor
Burton Diamond
This
diamond known as “The Taylor Burton Diamond, was discovered in 1966 at the
Premier Mine in South Africa, it was 241 carats and cut to a 69.42 carat stone.
In 1969 Taylor Burton had to own the diamond at any cost, as a gift for his
wife Elizabeth Taylor at a cost of $2,000,000, he then had it designed to cover
Elizabeth Taylor’s tracheotomy scar.
10.The
Tiffany Diamond
The
Tiffany Diamond was found about 1878 at the Kimberley mine in South Africa, the
large yellow diamond weighed in at 287.42 carat stone, that was cut to 128.42
stone. Most stones of this type would be cut 58 facets, but after a year of
studying the stone it was cut to 90 facets. It was considered a big risk at the
time, but the brilliants of the cushion cut stone proved to be a huge success
by the 23-year-old gemologist George Fredric Kunz. Audrey Hepburn wore the gem
at the press relies of the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
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