Cullinan Diamond

The Cullinan Diamond was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa in 1905 and presented as a birthday gift to Edward VII of England (r. 1901-1910) by the Transvaal Government. It weighed well over 3,000 carats, making it the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. When discovered, it was valued at over $21 million dollars in today’s money.

Despite its tremendous value, the diamond was famously sent by registered post from South Africa to England. The rough stone was then cut into nine large gemstones, each given a name Cullinan I to IX, and 96 smaller diamonds. The largest diamond is the 530-carat Cullinan I, also known as the Star of Africa, which now sparkles in the royal sceptre of the British Crown Jewels. It is the largest colourless cut diamond in the world. The second largest stone, Cullinan II, the 317-carat Second Star of Africa, was set into the Imperial State Crown, which is used at coronations of British monarchs. The other larger diamonds are variously worn as pendants and brooches and remain a part of the private jewellery collection of Elizabeth II (r. 1952- ).

In early 1908 it was decided to cut the rough and opaque diamond into brilliant gemstones. In order to get ideas on what exactly to do with the hoped-for gems, a team of experts visited the British Crown Jewels in the Tower of London to see where they might be installed. The precious stone was then sent to the diamond experts Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam for cutting. The process to cut out and polish sparkling gems from the huge mass of rough stone began in February 1908 and took the team of three specialists eight months to complete. The original piece was first cut into two pieces weighing 516.5 and 309 carats. The groove for the first cut alone took four days to prepare and when Joseph Asscher himself attempted to make it, the steel knife snapped. A second attempt was successful, and the original stone was eventually cut into seven large pieces. These were then cut and polished to produce nine large stones, each being given the rather unimaginative name of Cullinan plus a Roman numeral from I to IX. Cullinan I and II were formally presented to Edward VII on 21 November 1908, almost exactly one year after he had first set eyes on the uncut stone. This pair of gems, then the largest cut diamonds in the world, were immediately put on public (and very safe) display in the Tower of London.

World History