In 1905 the Cullinan or ‘Star of Africa’ was discovered: Where is it now?
He Diamond The largest raw material ever found on Earth is the so-called Cullinan, also known as The Star of Africa. It was found in 1905 in a mine in South Africa by the manager of the mining company that exploited the deposit, Frederick Wells.
The discovery took place 40 kilometers east of the city of Pretoria while Wells was carrying out an inspection at the mine. The name given to the extraordinary mineral is that of the owner of this industry, Sir Thomas Cullinan.
The piece, at the time of being found, It weighed 3,106 carats (621 grams) and measured 10.1×6.35×5.9 centimeters.
After being found, the diamond was put up for sale, which, however, did not happen immediately. The buyer ended up being the government of the colony of Trasvaal, a South African province, and it was later gifted in 1907 to King Edward VII of England.
However, the precious stone It was too big to keep in its original form.so it was sent to a company in Holland to cut it into smaller fragments.
Cut into nine fragments
It was like this The Cullinan diamond was cut into nine different stones, numbered I to IX, and in others even smaller, until reaching no less than 150 carved fragments. The first and largest of the pieces, called Cullinan I, became known as the Great Star of Africa and weighs 530.2 carats, that is, 106 grams.
The nine fragments and their current location in the British Crown Jewels
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Currently, the nine diamonds still belong to the British royal family and they take center stage during the coronation of the new kings, as happened during the one held to proclaim Charles III. They are part of the British crown jewels and are preserved in the Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross.
The Cullinan I is set in the Scepter of the Crosswhich the king holds in his right hand when he is crowned, and was the largest cut diamond in the world until 1985, when it was displaced by another exceptional piece: the Golden Jubilee Diamond.
The Cullinan II, for its part, appears in the British Imperial State Crown, which is preserved in the Tower of London Museum.
The Cullinan III and IV were incorporated into a clasp, with the Cullinan IV hanging from the Cullinan III.
Brooch formed by the Cullinan III and Cullinan IV diamonds
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Nonetheless, There is a diamond even larger than the Cullinan, called the Enigma Diamond., which however is not considered a true gemstone. It weighs 555 carats (111 grams) and, according to some scientists, could come from a meteorite that crashed into Earth 2.6 billion years ago.
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