Excelsior Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Excelsior Diamond was found on June 30, 1893 at the Jagersfontein Mine
by a worker while loading a truck. The man was able to hide the diamond from the supervisors but delivered it to the manager of the mine himself. Until 1905, when the larger Cullinan diamond
was found, the Excelsior was the largest known diamond in the world. It had a blue-white tint and weighed 971¾ carats (194.2 g). It was ultimately cut into ten stones weighing from 13 to 68 carats. (2.6 to 13.6 g). Immediately after its discovery the news spread around the world.
The Excelsior I, the largest gem cut from the crystal, was eventually bought by jeweler Robert Mouawad.
Jagersfontein Mine
Jagersfontein Mine is an abandoned open-pit mine in South Africa located close to the town of Jagersfontein and approximately south-west of Bloemfontein. Since it was first established in 1888, two of the ten biggest diamonds ever discovered, the Excelsior and the Reitz , were mined from...
by a worker while loading a truck. The man was able to hide the diamond from the supervisors but delivered it to the manager of the mine himself. Until 1905, when the larger Cullinan diamond
Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at .The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, , also from the...
was found, the Excelsior was the largest known diamond in the world. It had a blue-white tint and weighed 971¾ carats (194.2 g). It was ultimately cut into ten stones weighing from 13 to 68 carats. (2.6 to 13.6 g). Immediately after its discovery the news spread around the world.
The Excelsior I, the largest gem cut from the crystal, was eventually bought by jeweler Robert Mouawad.