Diamonds are one of the most popular, sought-after, and prized gemstones in the world. It is a crystallized form of carbon that is naturally occurring in nature and comes in different shapes and sizes. Diamonds in Las Vegas are always an eye-catcher, and diamond collectors would want to get their hands on them. There are a lot of diamonds in the area that can dazzle you as you cruise down its lanes. But below, we’ve listed the top 10 largest diamonds in the world today.
Woyie River
Let’s start with the 10th largest diamond, the Woyie River. It was discovered in 1945 in a river of the same name in Sierra Leone and was the largest known diamond at that time. The diamond was then brought to England in 1947 to be shown to Queen Mary and later in 1949 at the British Industries Fair. It weighed 777 carats at its largest. Unfortunately, the diamond was cut into 30 pieces, and the largest is called the Victory Diamond, which weighs 31.35 carats and is graded D in color.
Millennium Star
The Millennium Star was discovered in 1990 in the Mbuji-Mayi mine of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It weighs 777 carats uncut. The De Beers company eventually bought the uncut diamond at an undisclosed amount. The Steinmetz Group eventually cut it into a pear-shaped diamond that weighed 203.04 carats and was graded D-flawless.
In addition to the pear-shaped diamond, a 27.64-carat heart-shaped blue diamond and 11 other blue diamonds weighing a total of 118 carats were also cut.
Koh-i-Noor
The Koh-i-Noor diamond was said to be discovered in the 13th century in the Kollur Mine in India. It was said to weigh 793-carats—the diamond owned by the Kakatiya dynasty before passing it unto the succeeding dynasty to the next. The Mughal, Persian, and Sikhs have also fought over the diamond.
And in 1849, after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the diamond came into Queen Victoria’s possession. Then in 1852, Prince Albert had the diamond cut, which resulted in a 186-carat oval-cut diamond. Today, the diamond is still the property of the British crown.
Constellation
The Constellation was mined in 2015 in the Karowe Mine in Botswana. It weighed a whooping 813-carats. The Lucara Diamond Corporation owned it, and it was later bought by De Beers and was sold to the Zale Corporation. And in 2016, the Dubai-based company Nemesis International bought it for $63.1 million.
Incomparable
The discovery of this diamond was quite interesting, which involved a girl playing in a pile of rubble in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Experts took four years to analyze the diamond. The uncut diamond weighed 890 carats, but it was eventually cut to a smaller flawless size. Its final weight is 407.78 carats. It was a dark brownish yellow with a flawless clarity rating, and it was valued at $55 million.
Star of Sierra Leone
This diamond was found in the Diminico mine in Sierra Leone in 1972 and weighed 969 carats uncut. Jeweler Harry Winston bought it for $2.5 million and cut the diamond into a 143.2-carat emerald cut. However, internal flaws were later found, which resulted in the diamond being recut into 17 smaller pieces. The largest cut was a 53.96-carat pear-shaped diamond.
Excelsior Diamond
The Excelsior diamond was found in 1893 in the Jagersontein mine in South Africa. It was considered the largest diamond in the world until the Cullinan diamond was found. Finding a buyer for this one was difficult because of the diamond’s sheer size—995.2 carats—and flawlessness. Eventually, the diamond was sent to I. J. Asscher of Amsterdam in 1904 to be cut into ten smaller pieces. The largest one is a 69.69-carat pear-shaped diamond.
Lesedi La Rona
The Lesedi La Rona was discovered in 2015, making it one of the most recently discovered diamonds. It was found in the Karowe mine in Botswana and weighs 1,111 carats. Sotheby auctioned it in 2016 and, unfortunately, was not sold. Instead, the diamond is expected to be sold privately.
Cullinan Diamond
Diamond magnate Sir Thomas Cullinan found the Cullinan diamond at the Premier Mine in South Africa in 1905. After it was discovered, it was brought to England and presented to King Edward VII. The Cullinan Diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats uncut, which was later cut into 96 smaller gems and nine larger gems. One of the largest ones is called the Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, which weighs 530.40 carats. Today, it is set in the Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross and is part of the British Crown Jewels.
Sergio
Lastly, we have the largest diamond on our list, the Sergio, which was found in Bahia, Brazil around 1895. It is a black carbonado diamond that weighs a staggering 3,167 carats. Carbonado diamonds are also extremely rare and durable.
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