It is claimed that "the symmetry of the cut is so precise that it can be balanced on its culet" [1] It is a rare type IIa diamond, meaning that it contains no nitrogen or boron.
[1][2] The first record of the diamond's existence is around 1806 when it was owned by Joseph Bonaparte (eldest brother of Napoleon), who is reported to have purchased it from Morton for 52,500 francs.
After the Russian Revolution, Yusupov and his family fled, taking the Polar Star, along with other gems such as La Pelegrina, the Sultan of Morocco and the Ram's head.
[3] To help sustain his family in exile, he sold the diamond to Cartier in 1924, who in turn sold the diamond in 1928 to Lady Deterding, the wife of the oil magnate Sir Henri Deterding, founder of Royal Dutch Shell.
Mr Salih's and his partner Sheikha Mahdi's company Mujoharat Al Sharq, in Jeddah purchased the 'Polar Star' for a client said to be a senior Saudi Arabian finance industry official.