The Cullinan
The Cullinan I - aka the Star of Africa. 530.20 carats.
Royal Scepter with Star of Africa
(The stone can be removed from the Royal Scepter and worn as a pin or pendant.)
The Star of Africa, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20
carats, aka the Cullinan I. It measures 53mm x 44mm x 29mm, and has 76 facets
(counting the culet and the table). It's called the Cullinan I because it's the
largest of the 9 large stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond. The Cullinan II is
the massive 317.40 carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the
Imperial State Crown of Great Britain. The Crown also features the Black
Prince's Ruby, as well as St. Edward's Sapphire, and the Stuart Sapphire. All
the stones in the crown seem to have a history. :) The Star of Africa holds the
place of 2nd largest cut diamond in the world. The Star of Africa is on display
with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. 
The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond. The largest piece would of
course be cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats)
and the the next largest into the Cullinan II (317.40 carats), and so on. This
photo was probably taken in 1908, the year
after the Cullinan rough was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.
The Cullinan Diamond in the hand of a mine official, possibly Frederick Wells.
Late one afternoon in 1905, Mr. Frederick Wells, the
superintendent of the prolific Premier Mine in South Africa, was making a
routine inspection trip through the mine when his attention was attracted by
something reflecting the last slanting rays of the setting sun. Curious, he
stopped for a closer look. He was eighteen feet below the surface of the earth,
and the shiny object was on the steep wall of the mine a few feet above him. Mr.
Wells quickly scaled the wall and extracted from the blue ground what appeared
to be a large diamond crystal. At first, he thought he was being fooled by a
large piece of glass, but tests proved it to be the largest gem-quality diamond
ever discovered. It weighed 3106 carats, or about 1 1/3 pounds. It was named
after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting on that eventful
day. Many diamond experts believe that the huge stone was only a fragment, and
that another piece, (possibly as large or even larger) either still exists and
awaits discovery, or was crushed in the mining process. The latter is very
unlikely. The prospect of finding the portion of the Cullinan has added zest to
the activities of numerous miners and prospectors. The Cullinan was sold to the
Transvaal government, which presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday
on November 9th, 1907. It was insured for $1,250,000 when it was sent to
England. The King entrusted the cutting of the stone to the famous Asscher's
Diamond Co. in Amsterdam, which had cut the Excelsior and other large gems. The
huge diamond was studied for months. On February 10th, 1908, Mr. Asscher placed
the steel cleaver's blade in a previously prepared V-shaped groove and tapped it
once with a heavy steel rod. The blade broke, but the diamond remained intact!
The second time, it fell apart exactly as planned, and an employee at the
factory reported that Mr. Asscher had fainted. A second cleavage in the same
direction produced three principal sections; these in turn would produce nine
major gems, 96 smaller brilliants, and 9.50 carats of unpolished pieces. The
nine larger stones remain either in the British Crown Jewels or in the personal
possession of the Royal Family. These historically celebrated gems and their
present mountings are as follows: The Cullinan I, also known as the Star of
Africa, weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed it in the Sovereign's Royal
Scepter as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of
London. The Cullinan II is a 317.40 carat cushion cut stone mounted in the band
of the Imperial State Crown, it is also in the Tower of London as part of the
Crown Jewels. The Cullinan III is a pear-shaped diamond weighing 94.40 carats,
and is in the finial of Queen Mary's Crown and can be worn with the IV as a
pendant-brooch. Many of Queen Mary's portraits show her wearing these two
stones, and Elizabeth II makes use of them the same way. The Cullinan IV, a
63.60-carat cushion shape, was originally set in the band of Queen Mary's crown,
but can also be worn as jewelry, as described above. The Cullinan V is a
triangular-pear cut weighing 18.80 carats, was originally mounted in a brooch
for Queen Mary, to be worn alternately in the circlet of her crown as a
replacement for the Koh-i-Noor. This was after the Koh-i-Noor was removed to the
new crown that was made for Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) in 1937. 
The Cullinan IV (upper, 63.60 carats) and Cullinan III
(lower, 94.40 carats), set in a pendant brooch.
The Cullinan VI, an 11.50 carat marquise-cut stone, was
originally presented by King Edward to his wife, Queen Alexandra, and is now
worn by Elizabeth II as a drop on a diamond and emerald necklace. It was worn
more frequently by the young Queen than any other section of the Cullinan. The
Cullinan VII is an 8.80 carat marquise-cut stone mounted in a pendant on a small
all-diamond brooch, in the center of which is the 6.80-carat cushion cut
Cullinan VIII, and lastly, the Cullinan IX, a 4.39 carat pear shape, is mounted
in a ring with a prong setting that was made for Queen Mary; it too is sometimes
worn by Queen Elizabeth. 
The Cullinan VII (lower, 8.80 carats) and Cullinan VIII (upper, 6.80 carats)
Elizabeth II's Imperial State Crown of Great Britain
Imperial State Crown: originally made for Queen Victoria's
coronation in 1838, it was remade for George VI in 1937. It contains the 317.40
carat Cullinan II. The large stone above the Cullinan II is the Black Prince's
Ruby, which is actually a red spinal. The stone was at one time a giant bead.
Note the red dot on the upper part of the stone - that is a ruby that was used
to plug a small hole that went right through the stone. The Stuart Sapphire is a
very fine 104-carat oval shaped sapphire that appears on the backside of the
crown. It was among the Crown Jewels of Charles II. The sapphire in the center
of the cross on the top of the crown is St. Edward's Sapphire, (believed to have
belonged to Edward the Confessor), and the four large drop-shaped pearls are
said to have been Elizabeth I's earrings. 
The Cullinan II Diamond. Note the two tiny platinum loops on the edges.
This is so the stone can be worn as a brooch, alone or with the Cullinan I
attached. However, it usually resides in the front of the Imperial State Crown.
The Stuart Sapphire has been moved to its on section.
St. Edward's Sapphire, from the top of the Imperial State Crown.
The Black Prince's Ruby on the front of the Imperial State Crown, a name which
is misleading because the stone is actually a red spinal weighing about 170
carats. The gem is a large bead - the lighter-colored dot on the front of the
stone is actually a ruby plugging up the hole that goes through the stone.