Today in HistoryâJanuary 26: Worldâs Largest Diamond FoundâŠand Thrown Out
On this day in 1905, the worldâs largest diamond was unearthed at the Premier Mine in South Africa. Then it was promptly yeeted out a window.
When the stone was brought to the mineâs office, the clerk on duty dismissed it as a worthless hunk of crystal. Diamonds simply werenât that big. So he tossed itâliterally.
Cooler heads prevailed, and the clerk was convinced to see the gem for what it was: exceptional. It weighed 3,106 carats (more than a pound) and measured 4 inches long, with remarkable color (or lack of it) and clarity.
The diamond was found 18 feet underground and would be named for the mineâs owner, Thomas Cullinan. Based on its size and shape, geologists estimate that it formed more than a billion years ago, as deep as 400 miles below Earthâs surface.
The Cullinan diamond was briefly exhibited in Johannesburg before being shipped to London. Much ado surrounded its steamboat journeyâlocked in the captainâs safe and protected by guards. But the reality is that the stone was simply mailed to England in an unremarkable box; the steamboat was a decoy.
Once it went up for sale, a problem emerged. With a stone that size, the idea of cutting it was intimidating. It sat unsold.
In 1907 the South African province of Transvaalâthen under British ruleâpurchased it for 150,000 pounds for King Edward VII as a 66th birthday gift, a gesture of loyalty that today carries complicated implications of colonization.
The king sent the stone to Amsterdam to be cut and polished, a herculean task that took three people eight months. The first step was to split the diamond. But the first blow broke the saw, and it took four days just to cut a groove.
Queen Elizabeth II inherited the diamonds from Queen Mary and called them âGrannyâs Chips.â
Eventually, the Cullinan yielded 9 major stones and 96 minor ones. The two largest, Cullinan I (530 carats) and Cullinan II (317 carats), were added to the British crown jewels: one on the Sovereignâs Sceptre with Cross, the other in the Imperial State Crown. They remain the two largest, colorless diamonds in the world. Several other major stones went to the kingâs daughter-in-law Queen Mary.
And if the Cullinan wasnât impressive enough already, the original stone showed signs of cleavageâevidence that it may once have been part of an even larger diamond.
Imagine trying to heave that out the window.
- 300+: Diamonds of more than 100 carats found at the Premier Mine
- 1 million+: Carats mined annually from the Premier Mine
- 2,503 feet: Current mining depth at the Premier Mine
- 1788: First permanent European settlement erected in Australia
- 1837: Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state
- 1887: Construction begins on the Eiffel Tower
