THE WORLD'S LARGEST DIAMOND

The world's largest diamond was found in a mine in South Africa in 1905 and has since been divided into several smaller diamonds. (In the picture one can see the nine biggest pieces that were cut out of the Cullinan diamond) Several of them today adorn the English crown jewels.

They are said to be a girl's best friend, and then they are staggeringly expensive - diamonds. But which diamond is basically the world's largest?

Previously it was the Excelsior diamond found in South Africa in 1893, but that changed at 17:00 in the afternoon of January 26, 1905. Here, miner Frederik Wells made an incredible find in the Pretoria mine in South Africa.

A giant diamond emerged from the depths of the mine - a diamond that has since been known as the Cullinan diamond - the largest crude diamond ever found.

The large stone had a weight of 3106 carats (621 grams) and was 10 inches long and six inches high. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the director of the mining company, and after it was found sold to the English government for $ 750,000 ($ 6.3 million).

The government subsequently donated the diamond to King Edward VII of England in a birthday present as a sign of loyalty. After that, the diamond was shipped to Amsterdam, where it was to be sanded by the Asscher brothers, who at that time were known as the world's best diamond grinders.

In the brothers' workshop at Tolstraat in Amsterdam, the Cullinan diamond was split into two parts and subsequently sanded to nine large and 96 smaller modified brilliant cut grinders. Today, the nine headstones are among the gems of the English crown jewels.

The largest stone left of the large Cullinan diamond is today the 'Star of Africa', mounted on England's royal scepter. The Star of Africa is a drop shaped brilliant with 74 facets and is still the world's largest polished diamond to this day. It can be seen in the permanent exhibition in the Tower of London.

In addition, the various parts of the Cullinan diamond today also adorn the English crown, a brooch, earrings and a necklace.

Source: Museum Jewelery