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Cullinan Diamond

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This article is about the diamond called the Star of Africa. For the board game called the Star of Africa, see Afrikan tähti. For the WWII service award, see Africa Star.
Cullinan I (Great Star of Africa), II (Lesser Star of Africa), III through IX.
The rough diamond; below it (not to same scale) the nine largest pieces after the split
Weight3106.75
Colorwhite (exact colour grade unknown; Gems & Gemology's examination results stated probably D or at least E)
CutAssorted (cushions, pears, marquises)
Country of originSouth Africa
Mine of originPremier Mine
Cut byAsscher Brothers
Original ownerPremier Diamond Mining Co.
OwnerBritish Crown
Estimated valueover £1 billion, US$2 billion

The Cullinan diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever found, at 3106.75 carat (621.35 g, 1.37 lb) rough weight.[1] About 10.5 cm (4.1 inches) long in its largest dimension, it was found 26 January 1905, in the Premier No. 2 mine, near Pretoria, South Africa.

The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at 530.4 carats (106.08 g)[2] was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, 545.67 carats (109.134 g), also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross. The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.48 g), is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Both gems are in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Discovery

Captain Frederick Wells, superintendent of Premier Mine, one of South Africa's most productive mines, near Pretoria found the diamond, during his daily inspection of the mines, on the 26th January 1905. During his rounds he saw a flash of light, reflected by the sun on the wall of the shaft. As he got closer, he could see a partially exposed cristal, embedded in the rock, however he initially believed it to be a shard of glass, placed by one of the miners as a pratical joke. Using just his pocket knife he managed to release the diamond. At 1 1/3 lbs, 3 7/8 inches long, 2 1/4 inches wide and 2 5/8 inches high the diamond was twice the size of any diamond previously discovered. Wells immediately took it for examination.

Sir William Crookes performed an analysis of the Cullinan diamond, ascertaining a weight of 3,106 carats. The stone was immediately named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the diamond mine, who had discovered the mine after many years of unsuccessful searching. Crookes mentioned its remarkable clarity, but also a black spot in the middle. The colours around the black spot were very vivid and changed as the analyser was turned. According to Crookes, this pointed to internal strain.[3] Such strain is not uncommon in diamonds. Because one side of the diamond was perfectly smooth, it was concluded that the stone had originally been part of a much larger diamond, that had been broken up by natural forces. Crookes commented that "a fragment, probably less than half, of a distorted octahedral crystal; the other portions still await discovery by some fortunate miner."[4] Naturally the discovery became a global sensation, with the developments being followed avidly by the press.

Wells was awarded ₤3,5000 for his find and the diamond was purchased by the Transvaal government for ₤150,000 and insured for ten times the amount. The Prime Minister Botha suggested that the diamond be presented to King Edward VII as 'a token of the loyalty and attachment of the people of Transvaal to his throne and person'. A vote was staged in order for the government to find out what should be done with the diamond. Oddly enough, in the aftermath of the Boer War the Boers voted in favour of presenting the king with the diamond and the English settlers voting against such a move. The final vote was 42 against and 19 in favour. In the wake the vote, the British Prime Minister of the time Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman decided to leave the decision of whether to accept the gift up to the king himself. However, later prime minister, Winston Churchill eventually managed to persuade the king to accept, to which Edward VII finally agreed. Churchill was presented with a replica of the diamond, which he allegedly delighted in showing off to friends and displaying it on a silver plate. [5]

Journey to England

Glass copies of the nine diamonds cut from the Cullinan

In 1905 due to the immense value of the Cullinan, the authorities in change of the transportation were posed with a huge potential security problem. Detectives from London were placed on a steamboat that was rumoured to carry the stone, where a parcel was ceremoniously placed in the Captain's safe and guarded throughout the entire journey. However this was a diversionary tactic. The stone on that ship was a fake, meant to attract those who would be interested in stealing it. The actual diamond was sent to England in a plain box via parcel post, albeit registered.[6] Upon receiving the stone safely in England Sir Francis Hopwood and Mr Richard Solomon (the Agent-General of the Transvaal government in London) travelled from London to Sandringham, Norfolk by train, accompanied by just two experienced Scotland Yard policemen. They reached their destination safely, despite reports of a potential robbery looming. King Edward would later that day present Solomon with the KCVO[7]

Arrival in England

The diamond was presented to the king on his birthday, in the presence of a large party of guest, including the Queen of Norway, the Queen of Spain, Bendor Westminster and Lord Revelstoke.[8]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Crookes: Diamonds (1909) Page 77 (A photo of the rough Cullinan, marked as number 17, is facing page 80.)</ref> It was cut into three large parts by Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam, and eventually into 9 large gem-quality stones and a number of smaller fragments. At the time, technology had not yet evolved to guarantee quality of the modern standard, and cutting the diamond was considered difficult and risky. To enable Asscher to cut the diamond in one blow, an incision was made, half an inch deep. Then, a specifically designed knife was placed in the incision and the diamond was split in one heavy blow. The diamond split through a defective spot, which was shared in both halves of the diamond.[9]

Portrait of King George VI by Sir Gerald Kelly, painted sometime between 1938 and 1945. He is holding the Sceptre with the Cross, containing the 530-carat Cullinan I Diamond. The Imperial State Crown is on the right.

The cutting process

The story goes that when the diamond was split, the knife broke during the first attempt. "The tale is told of Joseph Asscher, the greatest cleaver of the day," wrote Matthew Hart in his book Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession, "that when he prepared to cleave the largest diamond ever known, the 3,106 carats (621.2 g) Cullinan, he had a doctor and nurse standing by and when he finally struck the diamond and it broke perfectly in two, he fainted dead away." Lord Ian Balfour, in his book "Famous Diamonds" (2000), dispels the fainting story, stating it was more likely Joseph Asscher would have celebrated, opening a bottle of champagne.

Principal diamonds cut from the Cullinan

The Cullinan was split and cut into 7 major stones and 96 smaller stones. Edward VII had the Cullinan I and Cullinan II set respectively into the Sceptre with the Cross and the Imperial State Crown, while the remainder of the seven larger stones and the 96 smaller brilliants remained in the possession of the Dutch diamond cutting firm of Messers I. J. Asscher of Amsterdam who had split and cut the Cullinan, until the South African Government bought these stones[10] and the High Commissioner of the Union of South Africa presented them to Queen Mary on 28 June 1910.[11]

Cullinan I

The Cullinan I is a 530.2 carat, pear cut diamond and the largest of the Cullinan diamonds. It is also known as the Great Star of Africa, and was set in the head of the Sceptre with the cross which was reworked for this purpose. It may also be hung as the pendant, on its own or from the Cullinan II in a brooch. For this purpose the diamonds have both been fitted with two tiny platinum loops on the edges.

Cullinan II

The Cullinan II, the second and last Greater Star of Africa, weighing 317.4 carats and rectangular cushion cut, was set in the front of the circlet of the Imperial State Crown. It may also be used together with the Cullinan I as a brooch.

Cullinan III

The Cullinan III is a pear cut, 94.4 carat diamond known as one of the Lesser Stars of Africa (along with the Cullinan IV). Queen Mary, the queen consort of George V had the Cullinan III set in the surmounting cross of her newly acquired crown for her coronation in 1911. By In 1914, however they were replaced by crystal models. After that, Queen Mary mainly wore the crown as a circlet, meaning the Cullinan III was not needed. Since Queen Mary's death on March 24, 1953 her consort crown has remained unworn and it is thus unknown if the Cullinan III will ever be used again to surmount the Crown of Queen Mary. Presently the Cullinan III is most frequently worn as a brooch, in combination with the Cullinan IV.

Cullinan IV

The Cullinan IV or is square cushion cut and weighs 63.6 carats. It was also set in the Crown of Queen Mary originally, as part of the circlet, however it too was removed in 1914. Since then it was been worn as a brooch along with the Cullinan III. Collectively the two diamonds are affectionately known as 'Granny's Chips', by Queen Eliazebth II. This was revealed by Queen Elizabeth II on 25th of March 1958, while she and Prince Philip were on a state visit to the Netherlands. As part of their tour of the country, the couple visited the Asscher diamond works, where the diamond had been cut fifty years earlier. The occaision marked the first time the Queen had publicly worn the brooch. During the event, the Queen unpinned the brooch and offered it for examination by Louis Asscher, the brother of **. Elderly and almost blind, Asscher was deeply moved by the fact the Queen had brought the diamonds along with her, knowing how much the gesture would mean to him, seeing the diamonds after so many years. The Queen has worn the brooch no more than six or seven times in public during her reign.

Cullinan V

The 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.

Cullinan VI

The Cullinan VI is marquise cut and weighs 11.5 carats. 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 necklace in the Delhi Durbar Parure.

Cullinan VII

The Cullinan VII is also marquise cut and weighs 8.8 carats. It hangs from the brooch containing the Cullinan VIII and forming as part of the stomacher of the Delhi Durbar Parure.

Cullinan VIII

The Cullinan VIII is set in the center of a brooch forming part of the stomacher of the Delhi Durbar Parure. It is cushion cut and weighs 6.8 carats.

Cullinan IX

The Cullinan IX is the final large diamond to be obtained for the Cullinan. It is pear cut and weighs 4.4 carats. It is set as the bezel in a ring, known as the Cullinan IX Ring.

See also

References

  1. ^ A carbonado found in Brazil weighed more than 3,600 carats (720 g), but no gem-quality material could be extracted from it.
  2. ^ Overview of the different Cullinan diamonds
  3. ^ Crookes: Diamonds (1909) Page 78
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CROOKES_PAGE_77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Fields, Leslie (2002). The Queen's Jewels: The Personal Collection of Elizabeth II. London: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-8172-6.
  6. ^ Dickinson, Joan Y. (1965). The Book of Diamonds. New York City: Crown Publishers, Inc. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-486-41816-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Fields, pp. 72
  8. ^ Goodchild: Precious Stones (1908) Page 140
  9. ^ Crookes: Diamonds (1909) Page 79
  10. ^ With the exception of the Cullinan VI which Edward VII bought and gave to Queen Alexandra in1907 and who on his death gave it to Queen Mary
  11. ^ ’’The Queen's Jewels. The Personal Collection of Elizabeth II.’’ Leslie Field. Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, @ 1987. Times Mirror Books. INBN 0-8109-1525-1. p. 72.
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