Top 10 Largest Diamonds in the World
Here a number of largest diamonds have gained fame, both as exquisite examples of the beautiful nature of diamonds, and because of the famous people who wore, bought, and sold them. Diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions. Let’s see the top 10 largest diamonds in the world.
10. The Millennium Star – 203.04 carats
The largest diamonds was discovered in the Mbuji-Mayi district of Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1990 in alluvial deposits; uncut, it was 777 carats (155.4 g). It was purchased by De Beers during the height of the country’s Civil War that took place in the early to mid-nineties. It was first displayed in October 1999 as the centerpiece of the De Beers Millennium diamond collection.
9. The Red Cross – 205.07 carats
The rough stone weighed 375 carats and was found in Kimberly mines (South Africa) in 1901. The diamond was presented as a gift to the art sale held in London by Christie in 1912, on behalf of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John.
8. The De Beers – 234.65 carats
This largest diamonds was found in Kimberly mines in 1888, the rough stone weighed 428.50 carats and measures 47.6 mm through its longest axis and 38.1 mm square. The Maharaja of Patiala bought the De Beers after it’s display in Paris. In 1928 Cartier of Paris set it as the centerpiece of a ceremonial neklace that came to be known as the Patiala Neklace.
7. The Jubilee – 245.35 carats
The Jubilee Diamond, originally known as the Reitz Diamond is a colourless, cushion-shaped diamond weighing 245.35 carats (49.07 grams), making it the largest diamonds in the world. The original stone, a rough octahedron weighing 650.80 carats (130.16 g), was discovered in 1895 at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa. A consortium of diamond merchants from London purchased it along with its even larger sister, the Excelsior, in 1896, and sent it to Amsterdam where it was polished by M.B. Barends.
6. The Centenary – 273.85
The De Beers Centenary Diamond is, at 273.85 carats (54.77 g), the largest diamonds to have been produced in the Premier Mine. It was named the Centenary Diamond as it was presented in the rough for the Centennial Celebration of De Beers Consolidated Mines on May 11, 1988. The Centenary Diamond was unveiled in final form in May 1991.
5. The Spirit of de Grisogono – 312.24 carats
The Spirit of de Grisogono is the world’s largest cut black diamond and the world’s fifth largest diamonds overall. Starting at an uncut weight of 587 carats (117 g), it was taken from its origin in west central Africa and cut by Swiss jeweler De Grisogono. The resulting mogul-cut diamond weighs 312.24 carats (62.45 g) and is set in a white gold ring with 702 smaller white diamonds totaling 36.69 carats (7.34 g).
4. The Cullinan II – 317.40 carats
The Cullinan II is the massive 317.40 carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain. Cullinan II was cut from the largest gem-quality diamond ever found, it weighed 3106 carats, or about 1 1/3 pounds. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting on that eventful day.
3. The Incomparable – 407.48 carats
Incomparable Diamond is another African diamond, one of the largest diamonds ever found in the world (890 carats (180 g)). A young girl encountered it in 1984 a pile of rubble collected from old mine dumps of the nearby MIBA Diamond Mine, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rubble was sorted out during the recovery process because it was considered too bulky to contain diamonds. The largest of these stones still bears the name ‘Incomparable Diamond’, and was graded by the GIA as internally flawless in 1988.
2. The Cullinan I – 530.20
The Cullinan I as the second of the largest diamonds, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats is also known as the Star of Africa. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm and has 76 facets. It’s called Cullinan I because it is the largest of 9 large stone cut from the 3106 carat Cullinan Diamond.
1. The Golden Jubille – 545.67 carats
The Golden Jubilee Diamond has been exhibited at Henry Ho’s 59-storey Jewelry Trade Center in Bangkok, the Central Department Store in Lad Prao (Bangkok) Thailand, and internationally in Basel (Switzerland), Borsheims in Omaha, USA (owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.), and Gleims Jewelers in Palo Alto, USA. It is now located in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the crown jewels. The valued at $4 – $12 million from this largest diamonds.