Related Facts: Diamonds & Queen Victoria

The Excelsior Diamond was found on June 30, 1893 at the Jagersfontein Mine.
Weighing in at a huge 971-3/4 carats, the gem was later altered to ten stones ranging from 13 to 68 carats. It was the largest Diamond known prior to the Cullinan.

The Cullinan was found in 1905, an immense 3,106.75 carats. Huge! It was later given to King Edward VII. The gem was cut into three large parts by Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam, and eventually into some 11 large gem-quality stones and a number of smaller fragments. The largest polished gem from the stone is a 530.2 carat stone named the Great Star of Africa or Cullinan I.

A second very large gem from the original Cullinan stone is the Cullinan II (also known as the Lesser Star of Africa,); and is 317.4 carats. It's also part of the British crown jewels, as it's including the Imperial State Crown.

Incidentally, the Imperial State Crown has several precious gems, including: 2,868 diamonds, 11 emeralds 273 pearls, 5 rubies, and 17 sapphires. That's 2.006 206 586 02 lbs. (910g) Yikes, that must be heavy if you've gotta wear it for hours! No wonder Queen Victoria had that smaller crown made!