507.55 Carat Diamond Found At Cullinan Mine

A 507.55-carat white diamond was recovered September 24 at the Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa.  Initial review of the diamond indicated it has exceptionally white color and high clarity.  The diamond is currently undergoing expert analysis to document color and clarity grading and to determine if the diamond is Type II (lacking yellow producing trace elements). 

The diamond was discovered with three other large diamonds with similar high color and clarity weighing 168.00 carats, 58.50 carats, and 53.30 carats.

Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s Chief Executive Officer noted, “The Cullinan mine has again given the world a spectacularly beautiful and important diamond.  Initial indications are that it is of exceptional color and clarity, which suggest extraordinary potential for its polished yield.  We now eagerly await the findings of the expert analysis.”

The Cullinan mine is best known as the source of the world’s largest gem diamond ever discovered, which was discovered in 1905, named the “Cullinan,” and weighed 3,106 carats rough.  Other famous diamonds sourced at the Cullinan mine include the Golden Jubilee (755 carats rough), the De Beers Centenary (599 carats rough), the Niarchos (426 carats rough), and the Premier Rose (353 carats rough).  Cullinan was also the source for some of the world’s largest polished diamonds including the Golden Jubilee (545 carats polished), the Great Star of Africa (530 carats polished), and the famous Taylor-Burton diamond (69 carats polished).

Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium who purchased the mine from De Beers in 2007 owns the Cullinan mine.  The Cullinan mine is also the world’s primary source of blue diamonds.  In May 2009, a fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats (cut from 26.58 carat rough) from the Cullinan mine sold for $9.4 million, the highest price ever paid for a gemstone sold at auction.