Some items of gems are soo ridiculously costly, that it turns into a surprise the place they could have come from.

The historical past of such valuables may also be very fascinating. Beneath are 5 of essentially the most valuable stones to be mined from Africa, and their historical past;

The Cullinan ($2 billion): That is the world’s largest diamond at 3,106.75 carats, excavated from the Cullinan mines of South Africa. The Gem was named after its preliminary proprietor Thomas Cullinan. The diamond was bought by the then Prime Minister of Transvaal (modern-day South Africa), who in flip offered it to the King of England, King Edward VII in 1905.

The diamond is at the moment owned by Charles III, who had it handed all the way down to him from his mom, Queen Elizabeth II.

The uncooked diamond was reduce into 9 main stones, the most important of which is the 530.2ct Cullinan I, popularly known as the Star of Africa. The Star of Africa now adorns the royal scepter of the British Crown. The second largest piece the Cullinan 2 additionally adorns one other British treasure, the Imperial State Crown.

The Cullinan III to IX had been acquired by the South African authorities and was offered to Queen Mary (l. 1876-1953), the consort of George V in 1910 to commemorate the formation of the Union of South Africa.

Centenary Diamond ($90-$100 million): This valuable stone was found within the Premier Mine of South Africa, utilizing their X-ray imaging system. The diamond was found on the seventeenth of July 1986. In Could of 1988, the diamond was offered within the Centennial Celebration of the De Beers Consolidated Mines.

It was insured for $100 million in 1991. It weighs 273.85-carats, third in dimension solely to the Cullinan I and II.

The diamond’s present whereabouts or house owners are at the moment unknown, though some consider it’s nonetheless with De beers, whereas others consider it was offered. The gem was additionally rumored to have been offered to an 18-year-old entrepreneur of British/Israeli origin, dwelling in the USA, in June 2008. Nonetheless, De Beers has refused to reveal any info

The Willamson Pink Star/The Steinmetz Pink Star ($71.2 million): That is one other diamond that was mined by De Beers firm in South Africa, in 1999. It spots a superb vivid pink colour and weighs 59.60 carats. Due to how uncommon the diamond appeared it took Steinmetz Diamonds 20 months to chop the gem.

The Pink star was unveiled in Monaco, at an occasion in 2003. The diamond was auctioned by Sotheby’s Geneva on 13 November 2013 and was offered in 2017 to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, in Hong Kong for $71.2 million.

Oppenheimer Blue ($57.5 million): Blue diamonds are arguably the rarest diamonds on the planet, and this blue diamond is essentially the most precious of all of them. It was offered for $57.5 million, making it the costliest diamond ever offered at an public sale till 2017, when it was surpassed by the Steinmetz Pink.

It was owned by mining magnate Philip Oppenheimer, earlier than being offered to an unknown purchaser. The stone was present in South Africa throughout the twentieth century.

The De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond ($57.4 million): This blue diamond stands as some of the costly blue diamonds ever offered. The 15.10-carat valuable stone offered for $57 million. It was found by Petra Diamonds in April 2021 at its Cullinan mine in South Africa.

De Beers Blue is the biggest vivid blue diamond ever to look at public sale. It was offered at a standalone public sale held at Sotheby’s Pacific Place gallery in Hong Kong.

Williamson Pink Star Diamond ($50 million): This diamond shares lots of similarities with the aforementioned pink diamond. Additionally it is known as the Williamson Pink Star, as they each share comparable options. The important thing distinction is, the Steinmetz Pink was found in South Africa, whereas this diamond was found in Mwadui Tanzania.

The diamond was offered for $49.9 million in October 2022, in an public sale in Hong Kong, greater than double its estimated worth. It additionally set a brand new world report for the best worth per carat for a diamond offered at public sale.

The Williamson pink star weighs 11.15 karat, about 5 instances smaller than the Steinmetz Pink, but solely about 1.5 instances smaller in worth. It now stands because the second most precious jewel or gemstone ever offered at public sale, second solely to its predecessor and name-sake, the Steinmetz Pink. The present proprietor’s id was undisclosed.

The Blue Moon of Josephine ($48.4 million): This diamond was found as lately as 2014 and was bought by the Hong Kong billionaire, and fugitive convicted felon, Joseph Lau for 9.5 million, which he then named the Blue Moon of Josephine, after his 7-year-old daughter.

The diamond can be offered the next 12 months, at a report worth of $48.4 million. It was mined in South Africa within the Cullinan mine.