Super Deep: Precious Diamonds Revealing Earth’s Secrets
The parcel was sent in a simple cardboard box to ‘S Newman & Company’, a mining agency in central London, and weighed just one pound (about 500 grams).
Although it looked like a very ordinary parcel, the truth was that it was not an ordinary parcel at all.
It was April 1905 when the manager of a premier mine in South Africa was inspecting the underground routine when he caught a glimpse of light reflecting off a rough wall above his head. He thought it was a large piece of glass that his colleagues must have stuck there as a joke.
He took a knife out of his pocket, and after a little digging, the knife broke. The stone was eventually extracted successfully but was later revealed to be a real diamond.
It was a huge 3106 carat diamond. About the size of a fist. It was not only huge but also extraordinarily transparent.
Later this diamond was named ‘Clinan’ which is the largest diamond ever discovered in the world. Once it was polished and combined with several other stones, it began to shine like a star in the galaxy. That is why this stone ‘Clinan I’ is also known as ‘Great Star of Africa’.
Almost 120 years after its discovery, this big diamond could not be forgotten. During Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, a number of Clennon-cut diamonds were placed on her coffin and were only removed when the Queen was being lowered into the royal vault for burial.
This is because today these giant jewels are part of the royal jewels which are usually kept in the Tower of London and brought out for state events. Clannon I is now enshrined in the scepter of the British monarch, while Clannon II, carved from it, is enshrined in the royal crown.
However, this diamond in the rough made its place in history much later before it needed to be sold, for which London was chosen. But here comes the problem, how do you move such a precious stone to a place 7,926 miles (12,755 km) away while protecting it from thieves and looters?
Finally, the gem was sent from Johannesburg by ordinary registered mail, which at the time cost just three shillings or about 75 US cents, which is about £11.79 or $13.79 today.
Meanwhile, a replica of the diamond was on its way to London by boat, guarded by a captain and police detectives. Amazingly both real and imitation diamonds were delivered to the destination. After failing to sell for many years, the original version of the diamond was purchased by the Transvaal government for £150,000 (£20 million or £22.5 million today) and gifted to King Edward VII.
Although these diamonds are known throughout the world for their size and clarity, these characteristics did not come about by accident. Culinan was a diamond in the rough, it is placed in a special category and has many qualities besides beauty.
These diamonds, in all their beauty, come from the depths of the earth. Fascinating geological anomalies that are merely ornaments. These strange rocks are otherworldly capsules that come from a mysterious region of immense pressure, swirling green rock, and mysterious minerals far below Earth’s surface.
Scientists from all over the world have been studying this subterranean area for decades to uncover its secrets. And interestingly, the diamonds we value the most have the most extraordinary stories behind them.
In fact, giant rocks like Cullen are changing our view of our planet’s interior.
A rare opportunity Sitting in front of a microscope at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 2020, Evan Smith carefully slipped rubber gloves over his fingers, and peered down through the instrument. Beneath it was a diamond the size of a walnut, worth about the size of a small country. This 124 carat diamond had a wonderful sparkle.
Smith had already cleared several types of security to reach this point. After an iris scan and identity check, followed by locked doors, secured elevators and mysterious restricted corridors, they reached the room where they were working. While they are working, vigilant security guards are watching the live video from the video cameras in the room.
Smith, a senior research scientist at the GIA, was examining the region of diamond from our planet’s interior to see how it forms and the chemical changes that could reveal how and under what conditions the crystal formed. .
But working on high value diamonds is a difficult process. It is usually impossible for researchers to access the largest samples. These diamonds sometimes travel the world to meet potential customers, but unfortunately never meet the scientist.
“It’s hard to get any diamond samples, and most of the diamonds she works with would probably have been thrown away,” says Maya Kopelova, a professor of mineralogy at the University of British Columbia.
