The largest gems in the world are admired for being unique specimens in the world. Being its finding of the rarest and most capricious of nature. Well, large gems are not normally found in their natural state. So it stands to reason that many are surprised and fascinated by its beauty, rarity and majesty.
That is why, we have compiled a list of the largest gems that have been found and we will also know the history behind each of them.
1. The Golden Jubillee diamond, the largest cut diamond in the world
Thanks to its weight of 545.67 carats equivalent to 109,134 grams. This diamond is currently known as the largest cut diamond in the world. The rough gem originally weighed in at 755 carats. It was discovered in the same mine where the famous Culinan diamond, South Africa’s premier mine, was mined.
This diamond has a mixture of shades between yellow and brown, and due to its defects, it took two years to cut. In 1955 it was sold by the De Beers company to a group of Thai entrepreneurs. Who in 1977 would give it to the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, on the occasion of his fiftieth year of reign. Being this one who would baptize it as Golden Jubilee.
It is currently displayed as part of the crown jewels of that country and occasionally is also displayed in exhibitions around the world under strict security measures.
2. The Star of Adam, the largest blue sapphire in the world
The sapphire “Star of Adam” was found in 2016 in Sri Lanka. Specifically, in a mine in Ratnapura, which is known as “The city of Gems”. This miracle of nature has 1,404.49 carats and is a star blue sapphire. It was certified by the Colombo Gemmological Institute as the largest sapphire in the world.
It is given the star sapphire classification, due to the reflection of the six-pointed star that the surface of the gem exhibits after polishing it. According to specialist estimates, it is valued at $ 100 million.
This precious stone was named “Star of Adam” in honour of the first man who inhabited the planet. And that according to Muslim legend he would have arrived in Sri lanka after being expelled from Eden.
3. The Ruby Rajaratna one of the greatest gems found
First shown to the world in 1986. For a time, it was known as the king of rubies and the largest star ruby in the world thanks to its 2475 carats. Its first known owners were the Kings of Vijayanagar, a prosperous Empire in southern India.
The Rajaratna Ruby is believed to come from one of the two best-known ruby and sapphire regions of India in the medieval era: Kalinga and Kalpur or the Mogok region of Burma, a region of remarkably large rubies.
The gem is valued at 200 million dollars, that is, approximately 80,000 dollars per carat. What makes it one of the most valuable gems in the world. It was lost for a time until it was finally found and returned to its rightful owner. Lord G. Vidyaraj of Bangalore, who inherited it from his ancestors, the kings of the Empire of Vijayanagar.
4. Cullinan, the world’s largest rough diamond
At 3106 carats roughly equivalent to 600 grams, it is arguably one of the largest gems ever found in the world. This huge diamond was discovered in 1905 in a mine near Pretoria in South Africa and was christened “Cullinan”. In honour of “Thomas Cullinan”, owner of the mine where it was found.
The rough diamond was presented to King Edward VII in 1907 on the occasion of his birthday, who would order it cut. In the process 150 carved and polished stones were obtained. Of which, the largest gem called “African Star I and African Star II” were 530 and 317 carats respectively.
The African Star I diamond is set on the royal sceptre of the British monarchy known as the sceptre of the cross. While the African Star II adorns the Crown of the British Imperial State. The rest of the diamonds are also currently part of the British crown jewellery collection.
5. Dom Pedro, the largest carved aquamarine in the world
This gem was presented in 2012 at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, in the United States. And it is part of its permanent exhibition, after being donated to the museum by a gem collector named Jane Mitchell and her husband, Jeffery Bland. They both agreed to donate it to the museum so that everyone could see this wonderful gem.
It is an emerald carved in the shape of an obelisk, of approximately 2 kilograms, a height of 36 centimetres and 10,363 carats. Which was discovered in the late 1980s, at the Pedra Azul Mine, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. By three miners who accidentally dropped it, causing it to break into three parts. And of the largest of them, which had less than 30 kilograms, “Dom Pedro” was carved.
At the time it was mined, the raw gem weighed approximately 45 kilos. Being baptized in Portuguese as “Dom Pedro” in honour of the first two kings of Brazil, Pedro I and Pedro II.
6. Teodora, the largest carved emerald in the world
This emerald was found in a mine in Brazil and has truly admirable characteristics. We are talking about nothing more and nothing less than 57,000 carats, which is equivalent to a weight of 11 kilograms. It is also about 12 inches long, although it is not the largest in the world. But what the Teodora emerald can boast about is being the largest carved emerald in the world.
Its name means “gift of God”, which hints at its impressive find. The gem was carved in India and auctioned in 2012 by the Canadian auction house “Western Star Auctions”. Finally, being sold for $ 1.15 million to Regan Reaney, a rare gem dealer from Canada.
Without a doubt, these are gems that deserve to be in a place where they can be admired by everyone. However, they are only a part of the largest gems found in the world to date. So we invite you to read a second part of this article where we will meet other gems just as incredible.
ALFA