The world’s largest diamond was discovered in 1905 300 miles northeast of the famous Kimberly mine in South Africa. The great diamond was discovered by the mine’s superintendent, Fredrick Wells during an inspection visit. A glint of reflected sunlight caught his attention on the side of an embankment. Wells initially thought he was the victim of a practical joke and that someone had perhaps planted a large piece of glass to make him look foolish. It was indeed a diamond crystal, the largest ever found!

The Cullinan rough (3,106 carats) was sold to the Transvaal government offices in 1907 for $750,000, for presentation to King Edward VII of England on the occasion of his 66th birthday (11/09/1907). The Cullinan diamond was shipped to London by regular parcel post while a replica was sent on a steam ship under heavy guard as a decoy. King Edward pledged to maintain the great diamond as a principal part of the British royal crown jewels. His pledge survives to this day.

In 1908, the Cullinan was sent to the House of Asscher, in Amsterdam, for cutting. No one had ever cut such a large diamond and it was decided that it needed to be reduced into three large sections in order to fashion it into smaller gems. This diamond, when finished, would yield 9 major diamonds, 96 smaller cuts and approx. 9½ carats of smaller polished fragments.

The largest, the Cullinan I diamond, is a 530.20 carat pear shape (The Star of Africa) set into a royal scepter within the crown jewels. The Cullinan II is a rounded square shape, not unlike a wide cushion cut: it has 66 facets and a 317.40 carat weight. In 1910, all the Cullinan gems were bought by the Union of South Africa and presented to Queen Mary in London, on June 28th. The two largest are forever a part of the crown jewels, while the others became the personal property of the royal family members. Most, but not all, of the larger Cullinan diamonds still reside in the Tower of London.

The  image on the left shows the replica of the Cullinan in it's rough uncut stage and the finished diamonds. The greatest and largest rough diamond ever found on earth still retains the title.