Another Major Diamond Fine From The Cullinan Mine

There was another major diamond discovery at South Africa’s Cullinan mine this month as Petra Diamonds recovered a 232-carat diamond.

The white diamond is a D-color, type IIa stone with “exceptional” size and clarity.   It is also the second large diamond recovered by Petra Diamonds from the mine this year.   In June, the company recovered a 122.5 carat blue diamond, the largest blue diamond found by Petra since they acquired the Cullinan mine in 2008.

The Cullinan mine has been a great source for diamonds since it opened in 1902.   The mine, located in the small African town of the same name, is just east of Pretoria, Guateng, South Africa.   According to a recent tweet by Petra Diamonds, there have been over 800 diamonds found in the mine that weigh over 100 carats and 130 diamonds at over 200 carats.

The location first became famous in 1905 with the discovery of the 3,106 carat Cullinan Diamond.   Over a century later, it is still the largest rough diamond ever recovered.   The stone was eventually broken down into 9 large diamonds and an additional 96 smaller diamonds.

 

Other famous diamonds found at the Cullinan Mine include:

• The Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest cut and faceted diamond in the world.   Recovered in 1985, it weighed in at 755.5-carats.   After two years of cutting, the brown diamond is a Fire Rose Cushion-Cut stone weighing in at 545.67-carats.
• The De Beers Centenary Diamond was found in 1988 and weighed in at a hefty 599-carats in the rough.  Graded as D-color and both internally and externally flawless, it weighs 273.85 carats in its finished form.   The shape has been described as heart-shaped without the groove on top.
• The Niarchos Diamond, a mysterious diamond that was found on a grease table in the recovery room for the mine in 1954.   In its rough form, it weighed in at 426.5 carats and possessed a small chip.   After a year of cutting, the diamond became a pear-shaped, 128.25 carat stone.
• The Premier Rose Diamond, found in March 1978, was originally a 353.9-carat stone.   It was eventually cut into three diamonds, the 137.02-carat Big Rose, the 31.48-carat Little Rose and the 2.11-carat Baby Rose.
• The Taylor Burton Diamond, is considered the first million dollar diamond after it’s famed purchase by actor Richard Burton for his then wife Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.   Originally weighing in at 241-carats, the diamond was cut into a pear-shaped, 69.42 carat stone.