Frederick Wells, manager of the Premier mine in South Africa, couldn't believe his luck when on 26 January 1905 (some sources put it a day earlier), he stumbled upon the largest diamond ever discovered a huge 0.6kg gem, weighing 3,106.75 carats. It was compared to an oversized lump of light-coloured barley sugar, and was presented to the mine's owner Sir Thomas Cullinan.
No buyer could be found, however, so two years later the regional Transvaal government decided to buy the diamond for £150,000 and present it to King Edward VII for his birthday. Transporting such a precious rock attracted rather a lot of unwanted attention, so it was smuggled onto a steamship and kept under guard.
But that was an elaborate ruse. The diamond on the steamship, drawing all the attention from the press, was a fake. The real Cullinan diamond travelled by recorded post with a mere three-shilling postage stamp affixed to its unsuspecting parcel.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
After being presented to the King in November 1907, the diamond was sent to Joseph Asscher in Amsterdam, widely considered one of the best diamond cutters in the world. For several months, he studied the impurities of the gem to know exactly where to make his cuts. Incidentally, a large flat surface on the diamond led some to believe that it had been broken at some point, and that a piece almost as big remained somewhere. If so, it's never been found.
Asscher's first attempt to cut the diamond, according to legend, resulted in his chisel sheering in half. When he did manage to break it, he fainted in his studio. After eight months, the Cullinan had been cut into nine principal stones', the largest of which is the Great Star of Africa, which remains the largest polished white diamond in the world.
Today, it sits in the Queen's sceptre along with the next biggest fragment, the Cullinan II, which is nestled in the Imperial State Crown, both forming part of the Crown Jewels.
-
8 of the best lakeside properties for saleThe best lakeside properties – from a house on the southeastern shore of Loch Lomond, to a 15th-century hall overlooking a lake in King’s Lynn, Norfolk
-
Gold’s allure and why you should never 'pay a premium for graded coins'It is easy to become distracted by the beauty of gold, but remember why you buy it, says Dominic Frisby
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
