However, even though many of the famous stones no longer exist there was enough detailed technical and scientific data produced at the time to be able to make an accurate assessment of them.

The history of the famous diamonds captured the attention of Scott Sucher who has been fascinated with diamonds since he was 14. Now a retired US Air Force pilot, Sucher continues his research on the world’s most famous diamonds to the extent that he has created a replica collection.

Sucher points out that his replicas are not mere representations or imitations. This distinction is very important; while a representation is a “stand-in” for its authentic counterpart, it is not necessarily accurate. 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.

And while the replicas have been re-created in cubic zirconia, the “diamond’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. And that’s where this story gets an Australian link.

The Koh-i-noor is not only famous because of its size but also because of its history. Tens of thousands of people died fighting for the 189-carat Koh-i-noor before it was eventually handed to the Queen of England in 1850. There, it was immediately cast in plaster twice, and just as well; it was re-cut soon afterwards.

After considerable negotiation in 2006 Sucher obtained permission from the Natural History Museum of London to have one of the plaster casts shipped to Antwerp, Belgium to be X-rayed and scanned in order to produce a perfect replica. More than 700 pictures were taken before the plaster model was shipped to Belgium to be X-rayed and laser-scanned so that replicas of both the Koh-i-noor’s original and modern forms could be produced.

After the plaster mold was delicately scanned in Antwerp, the computer data had to be “converted” to a useable format to re-create the stone. Melbourne jewellery retailer and diamond expert, Garry Holloway, then worked closely with Sucher using diamond-cutting software that could accurately position the facets on a 3D model of the Koh-i-noor. This process took Holloway, a self confessed “diamond cut nut”, four months to complete.

Sucher then spent nearly 100 hours precisely cutting two exact replicas: one is now on display at the Natural History Museum of London and the other he kept for his own collection. It is because of this scientific and detailed work that the collection can be described as replicas.

Sucher’s replica of the Hope diamond, for example, is the result of research undertaken alongside the US pay-TV station, Discovery Channel, when it was producing the documentary Unsolved History: the Hope Diamond. To assist, the Smithsonian Institute granted direct access to the unset Hope so that more than 150 pictures could be taken and analysed to reproduce the stone.

It is only through exhaustive research of historical records, and the participation of organisations such as the Smithsonian Institute, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Natural History Museum and Tower of London, and the Coster and Asscher diamond houses in Amsterdam that these stones have been retrieved from the dustbin of history and immortalised as high-quality, historically-accurate replicas.

In conjunction with Scott Sucher, the master of the world’s most famous diamond replicas, Jeweller brings you an exclusive collection of articles that uncover the secrets, dimensions and history behind the most important and iconic gemstones. Each story presents a host of fascinating facts, while dispelling a myriad of myths in the process.