India
koh-i-nor (mountain of light) – is transparent, with a green
undertone. the original cut was an irregular rose of 181 carats. since 1850 it has been
among the property of the british royal family and it is set in the crown of the british
crown jewels. in 1852 this rather imperfect stone was re-cut in london into the shape of
a rose – octanogal lower brilliant of 108 carats. a diamond cutter from amsterdam was
brought to london to do the work.
Brazil
star of the south – found in the state of minas gerias. it
weighed 261 carats in its raw form. it was cut in amsterdam into a 125 ct clear
brilliant.
South Africa
cullinan (star of africa) – the largest diamond known thus
far was found in 1905 in a pit of the premier mine by pretoria, transwal. it weighed
3,106 carats and was named after the company director cullinan. it was as huge as a
man’s fist, transparent, with a blue undertone, and of first-class quality. it is
believed it was a fragment of an even bigger stone. the government of transwal gave it
to english king edward vii as a gift. it was cut in amsterdam by the world-renowned
company assher comp. after its internal structure had been examined for almost a year,
it was split into two main pieces, which gave rise to nine big and ninety-six small
brilliants with the total weight of 1,063 carats. cullinan 1-4 are set in british crown
jewels and saved as part of the treasure in the tower of london.