Considered the most famous green diamond is the "Dresden Green", a nearly 41-carat internally flawless natural green diamond, the largest ever found. Known for its great size and its color, which is uniform all the way through, it is believed to have originated in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The pear-shaped stone is named after the German city that has been its home for the last 200 years.

The diamond currently resides in Dresden Castle’s "New Green Vault" in the Saxony capital.

The Dresden diamond has a long history, first recorded in 1722. It was owned by royalty, and in 1768, it was used to adorn a hat clasp, where it remains today surrounded by 413 smaller diamonds.

An American jeweler, Harry Winston, brought the Dresden Green to his New York store. Later, he had it displayed with the Hope Diamond, the largest blue diamond in the world, in the Smithsonian’s Harry Winston pavilion in Washington DC.

Green diamonds are incredibly rare, with a range of shades made possible by irradiation that happens spontaneously in nature. As opposed to other fancy colored diamonds,it is hard to discern naturally colored green diamonds from ones produced in laboratories. The Dresden has been used as a model to compare to lab-produced greens, to help industry leaders and scientists. The difficulty assessing the diamonds is why many stone cutters choose to leave a bit of the natural stone when they cut and polish.

The Ocean Dream Diamond is another well-known green diamond. At 5.51 carats, it is not revered for its size, but rather for its unique color. Fancy Deep Blue-Green, the shield-shaped stone is the only known diamond of this particular color and is considered one of the rarest gemstones ever discovered.stones. This proves authenticity and does not diminish the clarity or value of the stone.

Though historically treasured, green diamonds are making a comeback. Green diamond engagement rings are increasingly popular and celebrities and Hollywood types can be seen flashing green diamond rings from the covers of fashion magazines.