Beauty in Carats: The 10 Largest Diamonds Ever Discovered

The most brilliant stone.

The most enchanting piece of jewelry that anyone can ever possess.

The hardest known substance on Earth.

And a piece of beauty that is synonymous to forever.

These are just some of the descriptions that have often been associated with the ultimate girl’s best friend, diamonds.

A Versatile Rock

Diamonds are mostly known to appear as smaller pieces of jewelries.

Engagement rings, wedding rings, bracelets, necklace pendants, earrings, are just some of the popular jewelries where diamonds are used and set in smaller carats.

On the other hand, the largest diamonds to be ever found are very rare that they often make it to headlines upon discovery.

Since diamonds are weighed in carats, the bigger the carat is, the more expensive it will be.

That is why when diamonds of extraordinary size and weight are discovered, they become highly coveted and sometimes sold through bidding to prop up the price.

In some cases when jewelers see it fit, these large stones are also cut to smaller stones.

A perfect example for this is the famous Cullinan Diamond of the British Monarchy.

And to know more about how iconic the largest diamonds in the world are, let’s get to know 10 of them.

10. The Vargas: 726.6 Carats

Color: Blue-white

The Vargas is one of the world’s largest diamonds ever found in the world.
It was discovered in 1938 by Manoel Domingues and Joaquim Tiago.

Because it was discovered in Minas Gerais, Brazil, the stone was then named after the country’s President at that time, Getúlio Dornelles Vargas.

At the time of its discovery, The Vargas weighed 726.6 carats.

But throughout the years, this bluish-white diamond was cut into as many as 29 smaller diamonds.

These smaller diamonds were roughly cut into 5-48 carats each. And was reportedly owned by the “King of Diamonds” himself, Harry Winston.

9. The Golden Jubilee: 755 Carats

Color: Brown

The Golden Jubilee is a rough diamond that was discovered in South Africa’s Premier Mine.

The 755 carats was the unnamed original form of the Golden Jubilee, until it was cut into a fine 545.67 carats diamond. This makes it the largest finished diamond in the world.

Before being cut, it was even blessed by Pope John Paul II himself.

It is currently owned by the Royal Family of Thailand. Originally, the Royal Family planned to put the Golden Jubilee in the royal scepter and royal seal.

8. Woyie River Diamond: 770 Carts

Color: Colorless

This alluvial diamond that was named after the river it was found, was the largest
diamond to be mined in Africa.

This large diamond was specifically found in the famous diamond-mining country of Sierra Leone in 1945.

A few years after its discovery, the rough diamond was brought to England where it was shown to Queen Mary.

Later on, the stone would be cut into 30 pieces, the most famous and largest of which was the Victory Diamond with over 31.35 carats.

7. Millennium Star: 777 Carts

Color: Colorless

The Millennium Star is considered to be one of the most expensive diamonds to be ever found because of its top-color grade and flawless quality.

It was discovered in the African country of Zaire which is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When the diamond was cut, it yielded a flawless 203.04 carats diamond.

This pear-shaped stone is estimated to be valued at over $150 million. It may not be as big as other famous cuts of diamonds, but because of its colorless brilliance, its estimated value is very high.

6. Koh-i-Noor Diamond: 793 Carts

Color: Colorless

Koh-i-Noor as one of the largest diamonds to be found in the world is also one of the most controversial.

Its origin and place in history are often debated.

But it was thought to have been found in India in the 13th century; making it one of the oldest large diamonds to be discovered.

The largest and finest cut that originated from the original Koh-i-Noor that weighs 105.6 carats is now a part of the British Crown Jewels.

5. Incomparable Diamond: 890 Carats

Color: Brownish Yellow

At roughly around 890 carats, the Incomparable Diamond has indeed one of the most incomparable tales of discovery.

According to historical records, the diamond was discovered by a little girl while playing in the wastes of a nearby mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Years later, the rough diamond would be in the possession of Marvin Samuels who led a team of jewelers to study the said stone.

It took them many years of examination before finally deciding to cut it into 15 pieces.

The largest piece also known as the Incomparable Diamond weighs 407.78 carats and is graded by the GIA as trilliant and internally flawless.

4. Star of Sierra Leone: 969 Carats

Color: Colorless

Like what its name suggests, this large rough diamond is the largest diamond to be ever mined in Sierra Leone.

With its discovery in 1972, the stone was then purchased by Harry Winston aka the “King of Diamonds”. Another large diamond, The Vargas, was also purchased by the famous jeweler.

The largest single finished and polished cut from the original stone weighed 53.96 carats, while six of the other famous cuts became part of the Star of Sierra Leone brooch.

3. Excelsior Diamond: 995.20 Carats

Color: Near colorless

There was a point in history when the Excelsior was thought to be the largest diamond. It was found in the Jagersfontein Mine of South Africa in 1893.

Years later, it would be cut into ten stones of varying carats, ranging from 13-68 carats.

Funny enough, some jewelers and historians thought that the cutting of Excelsior into several pieces was a “tragedy”.

They suggested that it should have been cut into a single large diamond of great quality.

2. Cullinan Diamond: 3106.75 Carats

Color: Colorless

There is probably no rough diamond as famous as the Cullinan Diamond. Upon its discovery in 1905 in South Africa, it toppled the Excelsior as the largest single diamond to be ever discovered.

It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the chairman of the mining company that discovered it.

Currently, the cut jewels that originated from the 3106.75 carats are now part of the British Crown Jewels.

The two finest and largest cuts being the Culinan I and Culinan II.

The Culinan I or the Great Star of Africa is mounted in the head of the Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross.

It is considered to be the largest clear cut diamond in the world.

1. Sergio: 3167 Carats

Color: Black

While Cullinan Diamond is considered by some historians as the largest rough diamond in the world, others argue that it is actually Brazil’s Sergio.

The Sergio diamond, also known as Carbonado de Sergio was discovered in 1895 and weighed 61 carats heavier than the Cullinan.

There is not much known about this diamond other than it weighed heavier than all the other single rough diamonds discovered.

Interestingly, the Sergio is truly a milestone discovery because black carbonado diamonds are very rare and extremely hard to find.

There are only rare instances when diamonds are mined in huge chunks such as these 10 iconic diamonds.

But nevertheless, smaller loose diamonds like what Shira Diamonds are selling aren’t trailing behind in terms of beauty and brilliance.

Contact us to get one for you today. It might not be a Cullinan or a Sergio, but it’s yours.

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