Gems capture the imagination of nearly everyone around the world. Their shining beauty is enough to inspire awe and bring smiles to faces. Annual rock and mineral shows get packed nationwide, with visitors hopeful of spotting a rare gemstone. But despite that lavish attention, one gem stands head and shoulders above the rest. The diamond.
The beautiful jewels often get referred to as “ice” or “bling.” Jewelers regularly use the catchphrase “a diamond is forever.” And they are the traditional gemstone for engagement rings in America. The beautiful gems come in every shape and size. However, some shockingly large ones have gotten unearthed. We are going to look at one such gem today. Keep reading to discover the largest diamond ever recorded.
What is the Largest Diamond?
The largest one ever recorded is called the Cullinan Diamond. It got unearthed in 1905 at the Premier No.2 mine. This mine was owned by Thomas Cullinan in a South African town also bearing his name. It was discovered in January of that year and put up for sale in April in London.
The spectacular, gem-quality rough stone garnered substantial interest. However, after two years, it still had not sold. Finally, in 1907, the Transvaal Colony in South Africa purchased it. The Colony’s prime minister, Louis Botha, gifted it to the British king. Edward VII then had the rough one cut by an Amsterdam company called Joseph Asscher & Co.
They managed to get several spectacular cuts out of the Cullinan Diamond, two of which are still part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The Great Star of Africa is the largest, mounted on the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross. It is 530.4 carats. But more impressively, there isn’t a larger clear-cut diamond anywhere in the world. The second significant cut is called the Second Star of Africa. It lives in the Imperial State Crown and is 317.4 carats.
But the Cullinan Diamond also produced other sizable gems. So, that begs the question…how big was the rough Cullinan Diamond?
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How Big is the Largest Diamond?
The rough Cullinan Diamond was 3,106.75 carats, or almost 1.5 pounds, at discovery! Additionally, the spectacular gem is nearly colorless. And many clear-cut stones originated from the original.
Of its eight surfaces, four were smooth. So, experts believe it had originally been part of a larger rock (or gem) formation. Small pockets of air in the gem produced rainbow colors at just the right angle.
The Cutting Process
Joseph Asscher & Co faced a significant challenge without the sophistication of our modern gem-cutting methods. How would they cut the Cullinan Diamond without damaging parts of it? It took some doing.
The team worked for four days to make a ½ inch incision in the stone. This initial cut would allow them to break the gem in half with a single blow. Over the next eight months, three people put in 14-hour days to finish cutting it.
How Many Stones Came From the Cullinan Diamond?
Some fragments remained from the cutting process. The team in Amsterdam left all 19.5 carats of them unpolished. But they also succeeded in producing 96 smaller gems, known as brilliants.
However, the hallmark gems were the nine larger cuts totaling 1,055.89 carats.
What Was the Second Largest Diamond?
The previous record-holder was nowhere near as big as the Cullinan Diamond. It was the Excelsior Diamond, which was 972 carats. Miners at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa in 1893. The mine’s establishment date happened in 1880. And it is world-renowned for the size of its stunning gems. In fact, the Jagersfontein Mine produced two of the ten largest diamonds in the world. Its other claim to fame is the Jubilee, which came in at 245.35 carats.
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