Back in the Day: discovery of the world’s biggest diamond

January 26, 1905 South African mine manager Frederick Wells discovers a 3,106 carat (106.1 gram) diamond in the Premier Mine near Pretoria, South Africa. Measuring 10cm x 6cm x 5cm, it remains the largest rough diamond ever to have been found and was named the Cullinan Diamond after the owner of the mine, Sir Thomas Cullinan. The stone was bought by the Transvaal government for £150,000 (Wells received £3,500 as a reward) and then offered as a gift to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday. The responsibility of cutting the diamond fell to Amsterdam-based expert Joseph Asscher. He eventually cut and polished the Cullinan into nine principal stones and dozens of much smaller pieces and shards known as brilliants. The nine largest stones are part of the British Crown Jewels and are kept in the Tower of London. The largest is Cullinan I, nicknamed the Great Star of Africa, which at 530 carats (106 grams) is today the second largest cut diamond in the world. It is mounted in the Sceptre of the Cross while the other Cullinans have been set in various items of jewellery owned by Britain’s royal family. (Above is a brooch containing the 18.8 carat Cullinan V).

Also on January 26: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to reach Brazil (1500); The British First Fleet establish Sydney, Australia (1788); Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations (1980).

Born on January 26: Nicolae Ceauşescu (1918), Eddie Barclay (1921), Michel Sardou (1947), Anders Fogh Rasmussen (1953), Eddie Van Halen (1955), José Mourinho (1963).

Copyright © 2012 euronews