The stone to be twice the size of the Cullinan · 2007-08-30 16:38
The world’s biggest diamond has been discovered in South Africa. It is believed to be twice the size of the Cullinan, acknowledged to be the largest cut diamond in the world. The circumstances of the discovery are shrouded in mystery, the mining company which made the find has not been identified.
A spokesman for the mining house which made the latest find, Brett Joli, said the diamond was being rushed to a bank vault in Johannesburg and would be kept there for a couple of days until "we decide what we are going to do". The diamond is expected to attract furious bidding from buyers worldwide.
Fred Cuellar, the founder of Diamond Cutters International said the most important information about the stone was yet to be forthcoming.
"The reported size of the stone is accurate, but there are all these other factors we still don’t know and what matters now is how wide, how clear and how well cut it will be," he said.
The Cullinan, also known as the Star of Africa, was found near Pretoria more than a century ago. In its rough state it weighed 3,106.75 carats and was thought by some to be part of a larger stone which still lies somewhere undiscovered. The Cullinan was until recently the largest diamond in the world, weighing 530.20 carats cut. It now forms part of King Edward’s sceptre and is in the Tower of London.
In 1985 the Golden Jubilee was found in the same mine as the Cullinan and weighed 545.67 carats. So the Cullinan Diamond lost the record to the Golden Jubilee, The Guardian informed.
• An anonymous man has provided significant information
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