500-carat diamond found at S. African mine

Chicken-egg-sized stone may be among world's top 20 high-quality gems
Petra Diamonds Chief Executive Johan Dippenaar holds a white diamond weighing 507.55 carats, which was excavated at the historic Cullinan mine in South Africa on Sept. 24, 2009.
updated 9:21 a.m. PT, Tues., Sept . 29, 2009
JOHANNESBURG - Petra Diamonds Ltd. says a diamond the size of a chicken egg has been found at South Africa's Cullinan mine.
The diamond may be among the world's top 20 high-quality gems. It was discovered Thursday at the mine northeast of Pretoria, South Africa.
Johan Dippenaar, the company's chief executive said in a statement Tuesday that the 507.55-carat gem was of "exceptional color and clarity."
No value has been given yet for the diamond, which weighs just over 100 grams.
The mine also produced the largest diamond ever found, the Cullinan, at 3,106 carats in the rough. That finished stone is set in Britain's Imperial Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels.
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500-carat diamond found at South African mine

29.09.2009 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/109590-diamond-0

One of the largest, high quality diamonds discovered to date has been found at a mine in South Africa, mining group Petra Diamonds has revealed.
The 507 carat stone, which could be worth in excess of $20m (£12.5m), was found with three other large diamonds.
They were discovered at the famous Cullinan mine, where the largest diamond in history was found more than 100 years ago, reports BBC News.
Johan Dippenaar, the company's chief executive said in a statement Tuesday that the 507.55-carat gem was of "exceptional color and clarity."
No value has been give yet for the diamond, which weighs just over 100 grams.
The mine also produced the largest diamond ever found, the Cullinan, at 3,106 carats in the rough. That finished stone is set in Britain's Imperial Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, The Associated Press reports.
The world’s biggest certified diamond is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, found at the mine near Pretoria, South Africa in 1905. It was cut to form the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.
Petra sold a 7.03-carat blue diamond, cut from a 26.58-carat rough stone found at the mine, for $9.48 million in May, Bloomberg informs.
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