The extraordinary Blue Diamond, 29.6 carats, was sold for (USD) $25.6 million. This Diamond was mined from the famous Cullininan mine in South Africa, where many of the worlds greatest Diamonds were also discovered. Petra Diamonds Ltd, the company responsible for the Diamond, have described this gems colour as;
“The stone is an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, and has the potential to yield a polished stone of great value and importance.”
It is the largest specimen of its class ever mined. Upon discovery of the stone in January, the company director, Johan Dippenaar, was confident that this beautiful stone would be sold for a large price.
“This sale result affirms this stone as one of the most important blue diamonds ever recovered. An additional allure is the diamond’s heritage from the Cullinan mine in South Africa, which is well known as the source of many of the world’s most spectacular diamonds, including the two main diamonds in the British Crown Jewels, and which is the world’s most important source of very rare blue diamonds.”
Blue Diamond Jewellery from Rocks & Co.
The famous Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa is located about 40 kilometres east of Pretoria. Founded in 1902, it was originally named ‘Premier Mine’ and in 2003 it was renamed the ‘Cullinan Mine’ (or Cullinan Diamond Mine) in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the extraction of the famous Cullinan Diamond. This is another exceptional Diamond that we will talk about in a future article, for now lets talk about other famous diamonds that have been found in this mine.
Famous diamonds extracted from the Premier Mine
This mine has produced over 750 Diamonds that are greater than 100 carats and a quarter of the whole worlds diamonds that are larger than 400 carats. It remains the only significant mine of quality Blue Diamonds in the world. Besides the Cullinan, below I have noted some of the many exceptional Diamonds to come from this mine.
The Cullinan mine in South Africa
– Premier Rose Diamond: Discovered in 1978, this Diamond is a staggering 353.9 carats (70.78 g). It was subsequently cut into three Fancy cut diamonds, the Big Pink (137.02 carats), Little Rose (31.48 carats) & the smallest being Baby Rose (2.11 carats).
– The Niarchos: A stone 51 mm long, 25 mm wide, 19 mm high and weighed 426.5 carats. This stone was discovered on May 22, 1954. For 58 days, master Diamond cutter Bernard de Haan and produced a pear shaped gem weighing 128.25 carats, and possessed 58 facets plus another 58 facets around the girdle – totalling 144! De Haan nicknamed the gem the ‘Ice Queen’.
– The De Beers Centenary Diamond: The rough diamond of 599 carats was extracted in 1988 and featured an outstanding D flawless colour! A Diamond of this size and this colour does not need any further explanation to deserve our respect!
– The Golden Jubilee Diamond: A crude brown Diamond of 755.5 carats gave birth to the largest cut and faceted Diamond in the world, 545.67 carats! An interesting anecdote, this Diamond has been blessed by John Paul II, the Supreme Imam and the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand.
– The Taylor-Burton Diamond: Diamonds are a girls best friend, this statement is certainly true for Elizabeth Taylor. The Taylor-Burton Diamond, as its name suggests, was given in 1969 by Richard Burton to Diamond lover Elizabeth Taylor.
These great discoveries, and the latest discovery and sale of the exceptional Blue Diamond prove that the Cullinan Mine in South Africa is certainly not finished delivering wonders to us!
