Famous Gem Stones

The greatest diamond find of the 20th century had to be the Cullinan diamond.

It was discovered at the Premier Mine in Transvaal, South Africa on January 25, 1905 by the surface manager, 'Daddy' Wells. This find was happenstance as he saw a glint in the yellow ground of the side wall of the mine and went to remove it with his pen knife.

The rough diamond weighed 3,106 carats and measured approximately 4" long and 3" high with a total weight of just over 1.33 lbs.

The Cullinan diamond was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who was the chairman of the mining company. He had sent the diamond to Johannesburg with the rest of the week's production, and it remained on the London market for nearly 2 years because nobody wanted to buy it.

The Transvaal government bought the rough diamond at the suggestion of General Louis Botha, the Prime Minister, and presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday on November 9, 1907.

The King decided to entrust the diamond cutting to Joseph Asscher and Company of Amsterdam, who had previously cut the Excelsior. Joseph transported the diamond rough in his pocket over the English Channel on a steamboat, while the reporters were being told that the diamond was being sent via post.

The division of the Cullinan stone yielded 9 major stones and 96 small brilliant stones yielding 1,063 carats - recovering 34.25% of the original weight.

Asscher retained the numbered stones III - V and VII to XI along with the 96 smaller diamonds as a fee for cutting and polishing the Cullinan. All of these diamonds were purchased by the South African government and given to Queen Mary in 1910.