World Famous Diamonds: Sydney Fair prepares for 38 very special guests

Posted July 02, 2024 | By Samuel Ord

Expertise Events has arranged for the World Famous Diamonds replica collection to return to the International Jewellery Fair at Darling Harbour.

The collection, created by well-known US gemstone cutter Scott Sucher, first toured Australia in 2008 with 26 perfect replicas, including the Hope Diamond, Tiffany Yellow, Cullinan, Dresden Green and, the most famous diamond of all, the Koh-I-Noor.

Sucher’s collection has now extended to 38 stones, including the Orlov, Jubilee and Beau Sancy.

It’s important to note that the World Famous Diamonds replicas are not mere representations or imitations.

This distinction is vital; while a representation is a ‘stand-in’ for its authentic counterpart, it is not necessarily accurate or exacting.

“A replica re-creates the size, shape and colour of the original precisely – something that is especially relevant to diamonds such as these because so few people are familiar with the originals,” Sucher explained.

And while the replicas have been re-created in cubic zirconia, the stone’s full beauty, magnificence, and uniqueness can still be appreciated – they are as near as possible to the original stone.

For example, the most famous diamond in the collection, the Koh-i-Noor, has been replicated from a plaster model made in 1851 before the original gem was cut into its current form.

Scott Sucher, a world-renowned stone cutter

"A replica re-creates the size, shape and colour of the original precisely – something that is especially relevant to diamonds such as these because so few people are familiar with the originals."

Scott Sucher, US gemstone cutter

In 2006, after lengthy negotiation, Sucher obtained permission from the Natural History Museum of London to have one of the two original 1850 plaster casts of the Koh-i-Noor shipped to Antwerp to be X-rayed and laser scanned to produce a perfect replica.

Sucher spent 18 months modelling and nearly 100 hours precisely cutting two replicas of the Koh-i-Noor: one is now on display at the Natural History Museum of London, and the other he kept for his collection.

To provide insight into the painstaking work of creating exact replicas, Sucher worked with the Discovery Channel when it was producing the documentary Unsolved History: The Hope Diamond, which aired in February 2005.

The Hope Diamond

That stone has an interesting history. French diamond merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier acquired the stone from a slave and sold it to King Louis XIV, whereupon the king had it cut into a triangular, pear-shaped stone weighing 67.50 carats.

Throughout its life as the Tavernier Blue and then the French Blue, the fancy colour stone garnered a reputation for ill fortune that continued when it was eventually cut into the Hope Diamond.

Following Louis XIV's death, the French Blue disappeared. It wasn’t until 1830 that a large, blue diamond of a different shape and weight (44.50 carats) appeared on the market in England and was purchased by banker Henry Thomas Hope.

In addition to presenting the World-Famous Diamonds on the fair floor, Sucher will also conduct a number of talks on the replicas and the history of the first diamond cuts dating back to the 1300s.

He was the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Sinkankas Symposium Diamond hosted by the GIA, where he presented 'The Evolution of Diamond Cutting'.

The 38-stone World Famous Diamonds collection will be featured in a special-purpose display at the upcoming International Jewellery Fair in Sydney from 17-19 August.

Among the stones and cuts displayed will be:

• Cubic, octahedron, and dodecahedron crystals
• Point cut (three variations)
• Table cut (with and without culet facet)
• Single cut
• Mazarin style
• Peruzzi style
• Old Mine cut
• Old European cut
• Round brilliant cut

In addition to speaking about the collection and other related gemstone topics at the show, Sucher will be available to answer questions on gemstone cutting. He said he was particularly eager to discuss his favourite gemstone: Australian opal.