Jewelry
These Are the Only Four Diamonds Bigger Than the One That’s Just Been Found
- Gem Diamonds finds a 910-carat stone at its mine in Lesotho
- Analysts say gem could fetch between $40 and $50 million
A small, embattled diamond miner just hit the jackpot. The 910-carat stone found by Gem Diamonds Ltd. high in the mountains of Lesotho in southern Africa is the fifth-largest in history. Here are the bigger ones:
By far the largest at 3,106 carats, it was found at the Premier mine in South Africa in 1905 and named after the mine owner, Sir Thomas Cullinan. Discovered just 9 meters (30 feet) below the surface and jimmied free with a pocket knife, the stone was given to King Edward VII as a birthday present before being sent to Antwerp to be cut into smaller gems.