We know the Cullinan Diamond today best as the nine different gems it created, which are scattered throughout the British royal collection. But once upon a time, it was one giant diamond with the most fascinating story;

Frederick Wells was the superintendent of the Premier Mine near Pretoria, in what we know today as Gauteng, South Africa. On January 26, 1905, he was making his standard afternoon inspection of the mine when he was distracted by a shiny object embedded in the mine just 18 feet underneath the Earth’s surface. He pried it out and was certain he was being tricked; there was no way such a large object could be a diamond. Surely, he thought, the miners had planted some glass as a joke and so he threw it away however, it was soon discovered to be the biggest diamond in the history of diamonds.

in its uncut state, the cullinan weigheda massive 3,106 carats in its uncut state. It weighed about 1 1/3 pounds and measured just under 4 inches long, over 2 inches wide, and more than 2.5 inches high. And if that’s not enough, many experts believe that it’s actually only a portion of a larger diamond which has never been found, indicated by the stone having one flat side

it was named for the owner of the mine, Thomas Cullinan

The diamond was bought by the Transvaal government, which had been reconciled with England after the Anglo-Boer war, for £150,000 and presented to King Edward VII as a goodwill gesture on his 66th birthday on November 9, 1907.

It was dispatched to England where it would be entrusted to Premier's London agent, Sigismund Neumann, to ensure the diamond reached its destination safely it was sent to England in an unmarked postal box, while a replica was publicly accompanied by detectives on a steamer from South Africa as a diversion.

King Edward announced that he had accepted the stone “for myself and [my] successors”, and that “this great and unique diamond [would] be kept and preserved among the historic jewels which form the heirlooms of the Crown”

To cut the stone, the king turned to Asscher's of Amsterdam.

It was an honor and a burden, with such a high probability that the stone could be ruined, and the firm studied the stone in depth before doing anything. On February 10, 1908, Joseph Asscher finally started cutting. The first cut, according to many accounts, broke the blade instead of the diamond; the second cut cleaved the diamond in two, and Asscher promptly fainted

It was cut first into three large sections and then further into nine large stones, numbered I through IX, plus 96 smaller brilliants and around 10 carats of unpolished bits and pieces. The nine gem stones have a combined weight of a little more than 1,050 carats

Picture 1: Asscher's first blow to the cullinan
Picture 2: The Nine rough cuts
Picture 3: The Nine polished stones

Initially, the largest two diamonds (Named 'the great star of Africa' and 'the second star of Africa') were reserved for King Edward and the rest were initially left with Asscher's as the fee for cutting and polishing the stones, but they all made their way back to the British royal family eventually.

While Edward purchased Cullinan VI as a personal gift for his wife Queen Alexandra, In 1910, the new government of the Union of South Africa bought back all the rest of the pieces and gave them to Queen Mary as a gift.

The gems were numbered Cullinan I - IX and found their way into key settings in the Crown jewels and Royal jewelry of the Kingdom.

Picture 1: The largest piece from the Cullinan (the great star of Africa)(Cullinan I) was put in the Royal Sceptre
Picture 2: The second stone (The second star of Africa)(Cullinan II) was set on the head band of the royal crown

Cullinan III is a pear-cut, 94.4-carat diamond known as one of the Lesser Stars of Africa (along with Cullinan IV). Presently Cullinan III is most frequently worn as a brooch, in combination with Cullinan IV

Cullinan V is heart-cut and weighs 18.8 carats. It is set in the center of a brooch forming a part of the stomacher of the diamond and emerald Delhi Durbar Parure. The brooch was designed to show off Cullinan V and has a large number of smaller stones set around it. The brooch can also be attached to Cullinans VI and VII to become a large stomacher, often worn by Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth II has worn this brooch many times, perhaps making it her most-worn piece of jewelry

Picture 1: Cullinan III and IV set in a brooch
Picture 2: Cullinan V also a brooch
Picture 3: Cullinan VI and VIII set also as a brooch
Picture 4: Queen Elizabeth II wearing the cullinan VI and VIII brooch.

Cullinan VII is also marquise-cut and weighs 11.5 carats. It was originally given by Edward VII to Queen Alexandra. After his death she gave this stone to Queen Mary, who had it set as a pendant hanging from the diamond and emerald Delhi Durbar Necklace, of the Delhi Durbar Parure

Unlike, the Cullinan VI and VIII, Queen Elizabeth II has Never been seen wearing this jewel, claiming that 'it gets in the soup'

Finally, Cullinan IX, the final piece was set into a platinum ring known as the Cullinan IX ring

We have come to the end of our 'History lecture' I hope you learnt a few things just for trivia. it is also good to know that Africa is soo intricately woven into the fabric of the British royal kingdom that 'our'diamond' makes up the royal crown jewel [size=1pt]Also, we can ask for it back whenever we get too broke[/size]

Mods, r231, Freiburger, Lalasticlala, una well done o!!

bestestgirl:
We have come to the end of our 'History lecture' I hope you learnt a few things just for trivia. it is also good to know that Africa is soo intricately woven into the fabric of the British royal kingdom that 'our'diamond' makes up the royal crown jewel [size=1pt]Also, we can ask for it back whenever we get too broke[/size]

Mods, r231, Freiburger, Lalasticlala, una well done o!!

You mean Africa can ask for them back whenever poverty sets in?

Don't you think it's long overdue?

Tinyemeka:



You mean Africa can ask for them back whenever poverty sets in?

Don't you think it's long overdue?

Unfortunately, we can't! the Brits did not 'take' the diamond, it was given to them as a gift 'twice'