Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
The 15th largest diamond ever found, the 603-carat Lesotho Promise, was sold in Belgium last week for $12.36 million. The giant raw diamond will be cut into several smaller ones, expected to have a cumulative value of around $20 million. I was curious what the largest diamonds on record are, so I went a-searchin'. The largest diamond ever found was the Cullinan, dug up in South Africa in 1905 that weighed in at 3106.75 carats uncut—more than a pound! It was cut into several chunks and two of them are the second and fourth largest cut diamonds in the world, at 530.2 and 317.4 carats. After that whopper, the second place stone, the Excelsior, drops all the way down to 995.2 carats. The guy who found it, in South Africa in 1893, turned it over to the mine manager and got a reward, including a horse and a saddle, which seems totally fair. It has been cut into 21 gems. The rest of the list:
The Star of Sierra Leone
Discovered in Sierra Leone in 1972, weighing 968.8 carats. It was eventually divided into 17 stones, six of which were set in the Star of Sierra Leone Brooch.The Incomparable
A yellowish gem weighing 890 carats, the Incomparable was discovered in central Africa in the 1980s. It was cut into 15 gems; the largest weighs 407.48 carats.The Great Mogul
The diamond, discovered in 1650 in India, weighed 793 carats and carries the name of Shah Jehan, builder of the Taj Mahal. Its whereabouts are no longer known.The Woyie River
Found in 1945 in the Sierra Leone, this 770-carat diamond is the largest ever found in river sediments.The De Beers Millennium Star
Found in South Africa in the 1990s, weighing 777 carats uncut, this blue-white diamond is considered one of the most flawless stones ever discovered. The pear-shaped stone weighs 203 carats.The Golden Jubilee
At 545.67 carats, the Golden Jubilee is the world's largest cut diamond. Originally known only as "the Unnamed Brown," it was given to the King of Thailand in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of his coronation.
There might be a lot more talk about diamonds soon, thanks to this movie, and deBeers doesn't like that not one bit.
The giant raw diamond will be cut into several smaller ones, expected to have a cumulative value of around $20 million
So if you knew how to cut diamonds, it would be really easy to get rich? Just borrow money to buy a large raw diamond, cut it up and resell, and pay off the loan -- is there a catch?
Posted by: Clownæsthesiologist at October 23, 2006 03:44 PMEvery diamond contains a drop of blood.
The bigger ones contain garroted throats, the bellies of starving children, and the random amputated hand or foot.
However, if you really want that person to go to bed with you, pick up a diamond!
Posted by: Theophrastus Bombastus von Hoehenheim den Sidste at October 23, 2006 08:26 PMBlah blah blah blood diamonds blah blah. Okay you know what? Blood OIL has got many, MANY thousands more people killed. Theophrastus, you're ƒucking full of it. And whats with that 5-mile long pretentious screen name?
Posted by: Ryan Thompson at October 29, 2008 05:39 AM