|
Excelsior Diamond
The Excelsior Diamond is a gem-quality diamond, and was the largest known diamond in the world from the time of its discovery in 1893 until 1905, when the Cullinan Diamond was found. It was found on June 30, 1893 at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa, south east of Kimberley whose fame as a diamond mining center always overshadowed that of Jagersfontein. It had a blue-white tint and weighed 971 old carats or 995.2 metric carats (or 194 g). The Excelsior rates as the fourth largest rough diamond of gem quality ever found. It was ultimately cut into ten stones weighing from 13 to 68 carats. (2.6 to 13.6 g). Discovery The Excelsior Diamond was found on June 30, 1893 at the Jagersfontein Mine in the Orange Free State, one of the South African Republics during the second half of the 19th century, by a worker in a shovelful of gravel he was loading into a truck. Instead of handing it over to his overseer, he delivered it directly to the mine manager, who rewarded him with £500 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagersfontein Mine
Jagersfontein Mine was an open-pit mine in South Africa, located close to the town of Jagersfontein and about south-west of Bloemfontein."Jagersfontein Mine, Jagersfontein, Free State Province, South Africa" Mindat.org Places.co.za Since it was first established in 1870,Jagersfontein entry '''' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Asscher Diamond Company
The Royal Asscher Diamond Company ( nl, Koninklijke Asscher Diamant Maatschappij) was founded in 1854 by the Asscher family of gemcutters. The company is responsible for cutting some of the most famous diamonds in the world including two of the top three largest diamonds ever found. Its headquarters still stand at its original location Tolstraat 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company also has regional headquarters in New York City (Royal Asscher of America) and Tokyo (Royal Asscher of Japan). Royal Asscher is still owned by the Asscher family, today a renowned diamond dynasty. The Asscher Diamond Company, made famous at the turn of the 20th century by Joseph and Abraham Asscher, became Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 1980 when it was bestowed with the Dutch Royal Predicate from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in recognition of the company's stature both in the Netherlands and across the world. In 2011 Queen Beatrix perpetuated the Royal Prefix for another 25 years. Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, but diamond is metastable and converts to it at a negligible rate under those conditions. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. They are also the reason that diamond anvil cells can subject materials to pressures found deep in the Earth. Because the arrangement of atoms in diamond is extremely rigid, few types of impurity can contaminate it (two exceptions are boron and nitrogen). Small numbers of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) color diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, orange, or red. Diamond also has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found,Scarratt and Shor, p. 120. weighing (1 lb 5.92 oz), discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine. In April 1905, it was put on sale in London, but despite considerable interest, it was still unsold after two years. In 1907, the Transvaal Colony government bought the Cullinan and Prime Minister Louis Botha presented it to Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom, who had it cut by Joseph Asscher & Co. in Amsterdam. Cullinan produced stones of various cuts and sizes, the largest of which is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at (3.74 ounces) it is the largest clear cut diamond in the world. The stone is mounted in the head of the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross. The second-largest is Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, weighing , mounted in the Imperial State Crown. Both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal River, Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the Siege of Kimberley, siege during the Second Boer War, Second Anglo-Boer war. British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town. On 2 September 1882, Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States of America, United States to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure. The first stock exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley, as early as 1881. History Discovery of diamonds In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Empire at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. It is one of the three historical precursors to the present-day Free State province. Extending between the Orange and Vaal rivers, its borders were determined by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1848 when the region was proclaimed as the Orange River Sovereignty, with a British Resident based in Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein and the southern parts of the Sovereignty had previously been settled by Griqua and by ''Trekboere'' from the Cape Colony. The '' Voortrekker'' Republic of Natalia, founded in 1837, administered the northern part of the territory through a '' landdrost'' based at Winburg. This northern area was later in federation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jubilee Diamond
The Jubilee Diamond, originally known as the Reitz Diamond is a colourless, cushion-shaped diamond weighing 245.35 carats (49.07 grams), making it the sixth largest diamond in the world. It was originally named after Francis William Reitz, the then president of the Orange Free State where the stone was discovered, before being renamed to honour the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1897. The original stone, a rough octahedron weighing 650.80 carats (130.16 g), was discovered in 1895 at the Jagersfontein Mine in South Africa. A consortium of diamond merchants from London purchased it along with its even larger sister, the Excelsior, in 1896, and sent it to Amsterdam where it was polished by M.B. Barends. A 40 carat (8 g) chunk was removed, which itself yielded a 13.34 carat (2.668 g) pear-shaped gem eventually purchased by Carlos I of Portugal. Dorabji Tata acquired the Jubilee Diamond around 1900 and gave it to his wife Meherbai who used to wear it during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mouawad
Mouawad is a family-owned international company of Lebanese origin that makes and sells jewelry, objects of art, and luxury watches. The firm has headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, with a Middle East headquarters at Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai, as well as locations in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States. Founded in 1891 in Beirut, Lebanon by David Mouawad, the firm is now led by 4th generation co-guardians Fred Mouawad, Alain Mouawad and Pascal Mouawad. History First generation The Mouawad Company and brand began with David Mouawad (1865–1951) who spent more than two decades in New York City and Mexico learning the craft of watchmaker, goldsmith, and jeweler before returning to Beirut in 1891. He opened a small shop in Beirut in 1908 where he combined the trade of watch and jewelry repairs, with his passion for creating intricate clocks and fashioning one-of-a-kind pieces commissioned by wealthy clients. Second generation His son Fayez Mouawad (1917–199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Diamonds
Diamonds become famous typically for some combination of their size, color and quality. Diamonds occur naturally in many different colors, so the largest diamond of a particular color may not be large in absolute terms, but it may still be considered very desirable. Diamonds may also have high valuations or sale prices, or go on to have a noteworthy ownership history, but this will tend to occur for diamonds that had some outstanding characteristic to begin with. As new diamonds are discovered, the uniqueness of existing ones may diminish and there is no agreed-upon measure of a large or a high-quality diamond, so a strict inclusion criteria for notable diamonds is not attainable. Diamond A diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. At room temperature and pressure, another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form, but diamond almost never converts to it. Diamond has the highest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Largest Rough Diamonds
This is a partial list of the largest non-synthetic diamonds with a rough stone (uncut) weight of over 200 carats (40 grams). The list is not intended to be complete – e.g., the Cullinan (formerly Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...) mine alone has produced 135 diamonds larger than 200 carats since mining commenced. De Beers generally does not publish information relating to large diamond discoveries. See also * List of diamonds * List of emeralds by size * List of individual gemstones * List of gold nuggets by size * List of sapphires by size References External links * {{List of precious stones by size * Largest rough diamonds diamonds Diamonds Diamonds, rough ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
