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Mining and history

 

Only human ingenuity and mining technology has given us access to this rare and truly magnificent gem. Today, diamonds are found in a few isolated locations, scattered among the oldest parts of the continents.For thousands of years the only source of diamonds known to man was a remote area in India, where diamonds were first appreciated for their capacity to disperse light.

Click on the thumnails below to view large images

In 1866 the first truly significant source of diamonds were discovered in South Africa. The cut gem was appropriately named Eureka. This discovery marked the start of a remarkable new chapter in the story of diamonds in South Africa, and consequently, the world.

 

The Cullinan Diamond

The Cullinan Diamond mine has risen amongst the rest as the most famous diamond mine in the world, partly due to its abundance but largely due to its great discoveries. The most well known of which was the largest diamond ever found, weighing in at 3 106 carats. Other famous diamonds for example, the Taylor Burton Diamond, both the Centenary and the Millennium found first light out of the depths of this legendary mine.

The 3106 ct jewel was sold to the government of Transvaal and was subsequently presented to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday on November 9th 1907. The British royal family had the stone cut into 9 smaller stones and used the largest one called the Great Star of Africa in the crown setting

 
Cullinan diamond -
Great star of africa		 Cullinan diamond-
Lesser star of Africa		 Taylor Burton diamond Centenary diamond Millennium diamond
  Elizabeth II's Imperial State Crown of
Great Britain		 Royal Sceptre with
Star of Africa		 


9 smaller pieces of
the Cullinan 		The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond. The largest piece would of course be
cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats) and the the next largest into the Cullinan II
(317.40 carats), and so on. This photo was probably taken in 1908, the year after
the Cullinan rough was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.

Then - Cullinan Diamond Mine

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Now - Cullinan Diamond Mine


Where are diamonds found?

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The five top diamond yielding countries of the world are Australia (yielding the highest volume but lowest quality), secondly Botswana, Thirdly Russia, and lastly Zaire and South Africa.

South Africa is renowned for yielding some of the highest quality gemstones in the world.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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