Cullinan diamond

Cullinan diamond, world’s largest gem diamond, which weighed about 3,106 carats in rough form when found in 1905 at the Premier mine in Transvaal, modern-day South Africa. Named for Sir Thomas Cullinan, who had discovered the mine three years earlier, the colourless stone was purchased by the Transvaal government and was presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII. It was cut into 9 large stones and about 100 smaller ones by I.J. Asscher and Company of Amsterdam, famed for their cutting of the Excelsior diamond, which until the discovery of the Cullinan had been the largest known diamond.

The two largest stones cut from the Cullinan diamond, all flawless, are now part of the British regalia. The Great Star of Africa, or Cullinan I, is 530.2 carats and is the second largest cut diamond known. The pear-shaped gem is set in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross. The other diamond—the 317-carat Cullinan II, sometimes called the Second Star of Africa—is the most valuable stone in the Imperial State Crown. The remaining numbered diamonds, Cullinan III–IX, range in weight from 94.4 carats to 4.4 carats. They eventually became part of the British monarch’s personal collection.