The Tereshchenko Diamond, sometimes known as the Tereshchenko Blue, is a 42.92 carat diamond of blue colour that is cut in the pear shape. The diamond is rare, belonging to the Type IIb diamond, and believed to be originate from India.

The Tereshchenko diamond is the second biggest blue diamond in the world. Shaped by Cartier for a private order by the Tereshchenko family.

History

India

Like the Hope Diamond, the “Tereshchenko Blue” was found in India, near Golconda, in Kollur mine in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh (which at the time was part of the Golconda kingdom), in the seventeenth century.

Ukraine

The original owner of the diamond is the Tereshchenko family.

The diamond weighted 150 carats before the cut and was secretly brought from India especially for Mikhail Tereshchenko.

The “Tereshchenko Diamond” is the world’s largest blue diamond and is the second largest diamond to the “Hope”, which belonged to the French crown. However, after the French Revolution, the diamond went to England and then to the United States. This blue diamond was cut in France in 1673 (for French Crown), it weighed (*cut) 67 carats and was also also referred to a very rare Type IIb diamond. After the cut the blue diamond “Hope” weighed 44 carats.

Sofia Tereshchenko wearing Tereshchenko blue

The biggest order in the history of the House of Cartier

After the Cartier cut, “The Tereshchenko Blue” weighed 42.92 carats. It had an ideal form of cut – a “pear” shape. The Tereshchenko diamond took its place in the classification of the rarest Type IIb diamond together with the Hope (a sister-diamond). The Cartier jeweller from the Place Vendôme in Paris made it the centrepiece of necklace, where harmoniously conjoined forty-six intoxicating diamonds, weighing from 0.13 to 2.88 carats with cut of all kinds of shapes: “marquis”, round, “pear”, “heart” and variety of colours: pale yellow, lemon, aqua, Persian green, golden-yellow, grey, blue, purple, pink, bright orange and bright yellow.

This necklace will remain one of the biggest orders in the history of the House of Cartier.

Tereshchenko diamond has been featured on Cartier website as a Legendary Cartier Diamonds.

The curse controversy

Hope Diamond and Tereshchenko Diamond

According to legend, these two gems Hope Diamond and Tereshchenko Diamond with the same deep blue radiance, in the late 19th and early 20th century, were stolen from the eyes of an ancient Hindi sculpted statue of the goddess Sita, the wife of Rama, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu, and were then shipped to Europe. This legend is used to explain the tragic events of the both gems, for example: in the life of Mikhail Tereshchenko, the Tereshchenko family and Russia after Mikhail became the owner of the gem, and as it was pictured in the movie ‘Titanic” where the main female character Rose (played by Kate Winslet) was wearing a diamond “Heart of the Ocean” which has been inspired by both Tereshchenko blue and Hope diamonds.

Legendary sister-diamonds “Tereshchenko” and “Hope” diamonds

Tereshchenko Diamond in the art

Hollywood actress Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic

Kate Winslet in Titanic wearing Heart Of The Ocean

Legendary blue diamond in Titanic movie