January 26: On This Day in World History … briefly

1905:  Enormous diamond discovered in South Africa

A magnificent diamond was discovered in South Africa – the largest rough stone ever found. Weighing nealy one and a half pounds or 3 106 carats (621.2g), the Cullinan diamond was also of the highest quality.

It is literally priceless and far outweighed the previous record-holder, the 995.2 carat Excelsior, found in South Africa on June 30, 1893, at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa, 130km (81 miles) south-east of Kimberley whose fame as a diamond mining center always overshadowed that of Jagersfontein.

The Cullinan named after Thomas Cullinan, the mine’s chairman. In April 1905, the Cullinan was put on sale in London, but despite considerable interest, it was still unsold after two years. In 1907 the Transvaal Colony government bought the Cullinan and presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday.

Cullinan produced stones of various cuts and sizes, the largest of which is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at 530.4 carats (106.08g) – the largest clear cut diamond in the world. Cullinan I is mounted in the head of the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross. The second-largest is Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, weighing 317.4 carats (63.48g), mounted in the Imperial State Crown. Both diamonds are part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Seven other major diamonds, weighing a total of 208.29 carats (41.66g), are privately owned by Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1953. The Queen also owns minor brilliants and a set of unpolished fragments.

Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.

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