Johannesburg: A spectacular 507.55 carat white diamond has been found at the Cullinan mine in South Africa, where the world's largest gem was found decades ago.
At 507 carats (just over 100 grams) the diamond, which has yet to be named, is considered to be amongst the top 20 largest high quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide and ranks alongside other illustrious diamonds recovered at the celebrated Cullinan mine.
The latest gemstone was recovered on September 24 and is currently with experts for analysis, said international diamond mining group, Petra Diamonds Limited, in a statement released on Tuesday.
Initial examinations indicate that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, and most likely to be a Type II diamond. Further details, including colour grading and clarity, will be released once the diamond has undergone appropriate analysis.
Johan Dippenaar, Petra's Chief Executive Officer, commented on the find, "The Cullinan mine has again given the world a spectacularly beautiful and important diamond. Initial indications are that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, which suggest extraordinary potential for its polished yield.
We now eagerly await the findings of the expert analysis." Dippenaar said the mine had previously discovered the famous Cullinan Diamond in 1905, which was part of the British crown jewels weighing 3,106 carats.
The diamond was recovered alongside three other special white stones of similar colour and clarity in the same production run: another very large stone of 168.00 carats and two other stones of 58.50 and 53.30 carats.
Cullinan has a special place in the history of diamonds as the source of the world's largest gem diamond ever recovered, the 'Cullinan', at 3,106 carats rough. It has also produced a further two of the world's largest diamonds, the
Golden Jubilee at 755 carats rough and the Centenary at 599 carats rough, and many other famous gems including the Taylor-Burton (69 carats polished).
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