27 August 2007

A diamond roughly twice the size of the world's largest has been found in South Africa's North West province, SABC radio news reported on Monday. The world's largest diamond up until the latest find, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria in 1905.

According to SABCnews.com, the new stone "has been transported to a vault in Johannesburg under strict security."

SABCnews.com did not give the carat value of the new diamond, or name the mining company that found the stone or the exact place where it was found, saying only: "The mining company involved will decide what to do next once it has completed with the photographing of the diamond."

Weighing in at 3 106.75 carats, the Cullinan was previously the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. The largest of the 105 gems cut from the Cullinan was the 530.2-carat Cullinan I or Great Star of Africa.

Formerly the largest cut diamond in the world, the Cullinan I lost this record to the 545.67-carat Golden Jubilee, found in the same mine as the Cullinan in 1985.

Both the Cullinan I and the 317.4-carat Cullinan II, or Lesser Star of Africa - the second-largest gem cut from the Cullinan - became part of the British crown jewels and are on display in the Tower of London.

Fred Cuellar, founder of Diamond Cutters International and author of How to Buy a Diamond, told British newspaper The Guardian that the news of the record-breaking find had "caught everybody in the diamond industry offside.

"There will be a lot of mad bidding from a lot of private individuals as to who is going to buy this stone," Cuellar told The Guardian, but added that the most important information on the stone had yet to be made public.

"The reported size of the stone is accurate, but there are all these other factors we still don't know, and what matters now is how wide, how clear and how well cut it will be.

"Will this diamond rank above the best quality diamonds in the world? I can tell you right now, no. But in as far as the list of the largest diamonds ever found in the world goes, would it make that list? Yes it would."

SouthAfrica.info reporter

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	Previously the biggest: The Cullinan Diamond in the hand of an official of South Africa's prolific Premier Mine, possibly the man who found the stone, Frederick Wells (right); and the British royal sceptre with the Cullinan I or Star of Africa, the largest of the gems cut from the Cullinan (left) (Images: Famous Diamonds: The Cullinan)

	De Beers to mine Atlantic waters SA to set up state diamond trader SA to unblock mining investment North West province Financing beneficiation projects Polishing a rough diamond Investing in North West Mining and minerals in South Africa

	SABCnews.com  Famous Diamonds: The Cullinan  Cullinan Diamonds: Wikipedia