The Cullinan
The Cullinan I - aka the
Star of Africa. 530.20 carats.
Royal Sceptre
with Star of Africa
(The stone can be removed from the Royal Scepter and
worn as a pin or pendant.)
The Star of Africa, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats,
aka the Cullinan I. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm, and has 76 facets (counting
the culet and the table). It's called the Cullinan I because it's the largest of
the 9 large stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond. The Cullinan II is the massive
317.40 carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the Imperial State
Crown of Great Britain. The Crown also features the Black Prince's Ruby, as well
as St. Edward's Sapphire, and the Stuart Sapphire. All the stones in the crown
seem to have a history. :) The Star of Africa holds the place of 2nd largest cut
diamond in the world. The Star of Africa is on display with the other Crown
Jewels in the Tower of London.
The
nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond. The largest piece would of course
be cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats)
and the the next largest into the
Cullinan II (317.40 carats), and so on. This photo was probably taken in 1908,
the year
after the Cullinan rough was presented to King Edward VII for his
66th birthday.
The Cullinan
Diamond in the hand of a mine official, possibly Frederick Wells.
Late one afternoon in 1905, Mr. Frederick Wells, the superintendent
of the prolific Premier Mine in South Africa, was making a routine inspection
trip through the mine when his attention was attracted by something reflecting
the last slanting rays of the setting sun. Curious, he stopped for a closer
look. He was eighteen feet below the surface of the earth, and the shiny object
was on the steep wall of the mine a few feet above him. Mr. Wells quickly scaled
the wall and extracted from the blueground what appeared to be a large diamond
crystal. At first, he thought he was being fooled by a large piece of glass, but
tests proved it to be the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. It
weighed 3106 carats, or about 1 1/3 pounds. It was named after Sir Thomas
Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting on that eventful day. Many
diamond experts believe that the huge stone was only a fragment, and that
another piece, (possibly as large or even larger) either still exists and awaits
discovery, or was crushed in the mining process. The latter is very unlikely.
The prospect of finding the portion of the Cullinan has added zest to the
activities of numerous miners and prospectors. The Cullinan was sold to the
Transvaal government, which presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday
on November 9th, 1907. It was insured for $1,250,000 when it was sent to
England. The King entrusted the cutting of the stone to the famous Asscher's
Diamond Co. in Amsterdam, which had cut the Excelsior and other large gems. The
huge diamond was studied for months. On February 10th, 1908, Mr. Asscher placed
the steel cleaver's blade in a previously prepared V-shaped groove and tapped it
once with a heavy steel rod. The blade broke, but the diamond remained intact!
The second time, it fell apart exactly as planned, and an employee at the
factory reported that Mr. Asscher had fainted. A second cleavage in the same
direction produced three principal sections; these in turn would produce nine
major gems, 96 smaller brilliants, and 9.50 carats of unpolished pieces. The
nine larger stones remain either in the British Crown Jewels or in the personal
possession of the Royal Family. These historically celebrated gems and their
present mountings are as follows: The Cullinan I, also known as the Star of
Africa, weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed it in the Sovereign's Royal
Sceptre as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of
London. The Cullinan II is a 317.40 carat cushion cut stone mounted in the band
of the Imperial State Crown, it is also in the Tower of London as part of the
Crown Jewels. The Cullinan III is a pear-shaped diamond weighing 94.40 carats,
and is in the finial of Queen Mary's Crown and can be worn with the IV as a
pendant-brooch. Many of Queen Mary's portraits show her wearing these two
stones, and Elizabeth II makes use of them the same way. The Cullinan IV, a
63.60-carat cushion shape, was originally set in the band of Queen Mary's crown,
but can also be worn as jewelry, as described above. The Cullinan V is a
triangular-pear cut weighing 18.80 carats, was originally mounted in a brooch
for Queen Mary, to be worn alternately in the circlet of her crown as a
replacement for the Koh-i-Noor. This was after the Koh-i-Noor was removed to the
new crown that was made for Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) in 1937.
The
Cullinan IV (upper, 63.60 carats) and Cullinan III
(lower, 94.40 carats),
set in a pendant brooch.
The Cullinan VI, an 11.50 carat marquise-cut stone, was originally presented
by King Edward to his wife, Queen Alexandra, and is now worn by Elizabeth II as
a drop on a diamond and emerald necklace. It was worn more frequently by the
young Queen than any other section of the Cullinan. The Cullinan VII is an 8.80
carat marquise-cut stone mounted in a pendant on a small all-diamond brooch, in
the center of which is the 6.80-carat cushion cut Cullinan VIII, and lastly, the
Cullinan IX, a 4.39 carat pear shape, is mounted in a ring with a prong setting
that was made for Queen Mary; it too is sometimes worn by Queen Elizabeth.
The
Cullinan VII (lower, 8.80 carats) and Cullinan VIII (upper, 6.80
carats)
Elizabeth II's
Imperial State Crown of Great Britain
Imperial State Crown: originally made for Queen Victoria's coronation in
1838, it was remade for George VI in 1937. It contains the 317.40 carat Cullinan
II. The large stone above the Cullinan II is the Black Prince's Ruby, which is
actually a red spinel. The stone was at one time a giant bead. Note the red dot
on the upper part of the stone - that is a ruby that was used to plug a small
hole that went right through the stone. The Stuart Sapphire is a very fine
104-carat oval shaped sapphire that appears on the backside of the crown. It was
amoung the Crown Jewels of Charles II. The sapphire in the center of the cross
on the top of the crown is St. Edward's Sapphire, (believed to have belonged to
Edward the Confessor), and the four large drop-shaped pearls are said to have
been Elizabeth I's earrings.
The
Cullinan II Diamond. Note the two tiny platinum loops on the edges.
This is
so the stone can be worn as a brooch, alone or with the Cullinan I
attached.
However, it usually resides in the front of the Imperial State Crown.
The Stuart
Sapphire has been moved to its own section.
St.
Edward's Sapphire, from the top of the Imperial State Crown. Photo © HMSO,
London
The Black
Prince's Ruby on the front of the Imperial State Crown, a name which is
misleading because the stone is actually a red spinel weighing about 170 carats.
The gem is a large bead - the lighter-colored dot on the front of the stone is
actually a ruby plugging up the hole that goes through the stone. Photo © HMSO,
London
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