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Cullinan Diamond

The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106 carats (621.20 g), discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine. In April 1905, it was put on sale in London, but despite considerable interest, it was still unsold after two years. In 1907, the Transvaal Colony government bought the Cullinan and Prime Minister Louis Botha presented it to Edward VII. It was then cut by Joseph Asscher & Co. in Amsterdam.

Discovery and early history
The Cullinan is estimated to have formed in Earth's mantle transition zone at a depth of and reached the surface 1.18 billion years ago. It was found below the surface at Premier Mine in Cullinan, Transvaal Colony, by Frederick Wells, surface manager at the mine, on 26 January 1905. It was approximately long, wide, deep, and weighed . Newspapers called it the "Cullinan Diamond", a reference to Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine in 1902. It was three times the size of the Excelsior Diamond, found in 1893 at Jagersfontein Mine, weighing . Four of its eight surfaces were smooth, indicating that it once had been part of a much larger stone broken up by natural forces. It had a blue-white hue and contained a small pocket of air, which at certain angles produced a rainbow, or Newton's rings. Shortly after its discovery, Cullinan went on public display at the Standard Bank in Johannesburg, where it was seen by an estimated 8,000–9,000 visitors. In April 1905, the rough gem was deposited with Premier Mining Co.'s London sales agent, S. Neumann & Co. Due to its immense value, detectives were assigned to the RMS Kenilworth Castle that was rumoured to be carrying the stone, and a parcel was ceremoniously locked in the captain's safe and guarded on the entire journey. It was a diversionary tactic – the stone on that ship was fake, meant to attract those who would be interested in stealing it. Cullinan was sent to the United Kingdom in a plain box via registered post. On arriving in London, it was conveyed to Buckingham Palace for inspection by King Edward VII. Although it drew considerable interest from potential buyers, Cullinan went unsold for two years. In August 1907, a vote was held in the Legislative Council on the Cullinan's fate, and a motion authorising the purchase was carried by 42 votes in favour to 19 against. Initially, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, then British Prime Minister, advised the king to decline the offer, but he later decided to let Edward VII choose whether or not to accept the gift. Eventually, he was persuaded by Winston Churchill, then Colonial Under-Secretary. For his trouble, Churchill was sent a replica, which he enjoyed showing off to guests on a silver plate. The Transvaal Colony government bought the diamond on 17 October 1907 for £150,000, which adjusted for pound-sterling inflation is equivalent to £ in . Due to a 60% tax on mining profits, the Treasury received some of its money back from the Premier Diamond Mining Company. The diamond was presented to the king at Sandringham House by Agent-General of the colony, Sir Richard Solomon, on 9 November 1907 – his 66th birthday – in the presence of a large party of guests, including the Queen of Sweden, the Queen of Spain, the Duke of Westminster and Lord Revelstoke. The king asked his colonial secretary, Lord Elgin, to announce that he accepted the gift "for myself and my successors" and that he would ensure "this great and unique diamond be kept and preserved among the historic jewels which form the heirlooms of the Crown". He returned to the Netherlands by train and ferry with the diamond in his coat pocket. On 10 February 1908, the rough stone was split in half by Joseph Asscher at his diamond-cutting factory in Amsterdam. At the time, technology had not yet evolved to guarantee the quality of modern standards, and cutting the diamond was difficult and risky. After weeks of planning, an incision deep was made to enable Asscher to cleave the diamond in one blow. Making the incision alone took four days, and a steel knife broke on the first attempt, In all, splitting and cutting the diamond took eight months, with three people working 14 hours per day to complete the task. Ian Balfour, in his book Famous Diamonds (2009), dispels the fainting story, suggesting it was more likely Joseph would have celebrated, opening a bottle of champagne. ==Diamonds cut from the Cullinan==
Diamonds cut from the Cullinan
Cullinan produced 9 major stones totalling , plus 96 minor brilliants and some unpolished fragments weighing . All but the two largest stones – Cullinans I and II – remained in Amsterdam by arrangement as the fee for Asscher's services, Cullinans I and II are part of the Crown Jewels, The South African government also bought the minor brilliants from Asscher and distributed them to Queen Mary; Louis Botha, the then prime minister of South Africa; the diamond merchants Arthur and Alexander Levy, who supervised the cutting of Cullinan; and Jacob Romijn (later Romyn), who co-founded the first trade union in the diamond industry. Some were set by Mary into a long platinum chain, which Elizabeth II never wore in public, saying that "it gets in the soup". In the 1960s, two minor Cullinan diamonds owned by Louis Botha's heirs were analysed at the De Beers laboratory in Johannesburg and found to be completely free of nitrogen or any other impurities. Cullinans I and II were examined in the 1980s by gemologists at the Tower of London and both graded as colourless type IIa. Cullinan I Cullinan I, or the Great Star of Africa, is a pendeloque cut brilliant weighing and has 74 facets. It is set at the top of the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, made in 1661, which had to be redesigned in 1910 to accommodate it. Cullinan I was surpassed as the world's largest cut diamond by the brown Golden Jubilee Diamond in 1992, which was surpassed in 2025 by the Black falcon. Cullinan I remains the largest colourless cut diamond in the world. In terms of clarity, it has a few tiny cleavages and a small patch of graining. The diamond is fitted with loops and can be taken out of its setting to be worn as a pendant suspended from Cullinan II to make a brooch. Queen Mary, wife of George V, often wore it like this. In 1908, the stone was valued at US$2.5 million (equivalent to US$ million in ) – two and a half times the rough Cullinan's estimated value. Cullinan II Cullinan II, or the Second Star of Africa, is a cushion-cut brilliant with 66 facets weighing set in the front of the Imperial State Crown, It measures . The diamond has a number of tiny flaws, scratches on the table facet, and a small chip at the girdle. Like Cullinan I, it is held in place by a yellow gold enclosure, which is screwed onto the crown. In 1912 the Delhi Durbar Tiara, worn the previous year by Mary instead of a crown at the Delhi Durbar, where her husband wore the Imperial Crown of India, was also adapted to take Cullinans III and IV. Elizabeth II frequently wore Cullinan III in combination with Cullinan IV as a brooch. In total, the brooch is long and wide. Cullinan III has also been used as a pendant on the Coronation Necklace, where it occasionally replaced the Lahore Diamond. Cullinan IV , and IV in the base of her crown, below the Koh-i-Noor Cullinan IV, also referred to as a Lesser Star of Africa, is square-cut and weighs . Cullinan V Cullinan V is an heart-shaped diamond set in the centre of a platinum brooch that formed a part of the stomacher made for Queen Mary to wear at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. The brooch was designed to show off Cullinan V and is pavé-set with a border of smaller diamonds. It can be suspended from the VIII brooch and can be used to suspend the VII pendant. It was often worn like this by Mary. Cullinan VI Cullinan VI is marquise-cut and weighs . Cullinan VII Cullinan VII is also marquise-cut and weighs . Cullinan VIII Cullinan VIII is an oblong-cut diamond weighing . == See also ==
General and cited references
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