The Largest Diamond Ever Discovered: The Cullinan

Diamonds have captivated humanity for centuries, symbolizing power, love, and timeless beauty. Among them, one stands above all in both size and legend—the Cullinan Diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered.

Discovery of the Cullinan

In 1905, at the Premier Mine in Cullinan, South Africa, a miner named Frederick Wells noticed a strange reflection on the mine wall. What he pulled out was not a piece of glass or quartz—but a colossal diamond weighing an astonishing 3,106 carats (over 600 gramms). To this day, no other gem-quality rough diamond has surpassed it in size.

The Diamond’s Journey

The diamond was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the mine’s founder, and soon made its way to the United Kingdom. It was eventually presented to King Edward VII as a gesture of goodwill from South Africa to Britain.

But the Cullinan wasn’t destined to remain whole. Master diamond cutters in Amsterdam carefully cleaved it into 105 individual gemstones, each polished to perfection.

The Famous Stones

The two most celebrated gems from the Cullinan are:

• Cullinan I (the Great Star of Africa): A pear-shaped diamond weighing 530.2 carats, it is the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. It now sits in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, part of the British Crown Jewels.

• Cullinan II (the Second Star of Africa): A cushion-cut diamond weighing 317.4 carats, set in the Imperial State Crown.

Other stones from the Cullinan belong to the British royal family’s private collection and occasionally appear in royal regalia or jewelry.

Why the Cullinan Still Matters

The Cullinan Diamond isn’t just remarkable for its size. It represents a feat of geology, craftsmanship, and history. From the mine walls of South Africa to the grandeur of the British Crown Jewels, its story spans continents and centuries, embodying the enduring allure of diamonds.

Fun fact: If the Cullinan had remained uncut, it would have been nearly impossible to set into jewelry due to its sheer size. Its division allowed it to become part of some of the world’s most iconic treasures.

The price:

• A few sources estimate the overall Cullinan’s value at around €350 million. Y.L.Golan Diamonds+2Lifestyle Asia+2
• Others place the value more ambitiously at over €1.7 billion. Worthy
• One breakdown lists the largest cut piece (Cullinan I, 530.2 carats) at about £290 million (~€333 million) while the second-largest (Cullinan II, 317.4 carats) at ~ €179 million.