As for the story of the discovery and fate of Cullinan diamond, it is the largest gem-grade diamond ever discovered, and it is amazing, just like the amazing gem array cut from it. 365,438+006 carats of Cullinan diamonds are uncut (Cullinan mine archives, about 65.438+05 billion years ago, Vulcan, the blacksmith of the gods, was deep in a sleeping volcano in southern Africa. The result is a spectacular fireworks display. At that time, the earth was blown out of the underground chimney, and a rock fountain spewed out the sky 65,438+02 miles (20 kilometers) high, just like dropping diamonds embedded in kimberlite. The underground chimney spewed out the ground and diamonds in the explosion.

Cullinan Tourism and Heritage Center: Less than 1% of the volcanoes on earth contain diamonds.

Under the pressure of volcanic thermal explosion, carbon crystallizes into diamonds and is captured in kimberlite.

Exposed to wind, rain and sunshine, kimberlite breaks and diamonds are released.

Some were washed into rivers and streams, and their traces were found thousands of miles away on the west coast of Africa, but many people around the crater were unaffected for thousands of years.

By 1836, many residents in Cape Town were tired of British rule and decided to get on the ox cart and cross the desert and mountains to find Canaan, which is well-known in Africa, to cultivate peacefully there and establish their own independent country.

The first family to arrive near the volcano was the Minar family, who named their farm Ilan Fontaine, probably to commemorate many Elam antelope species roaming these lands.

Soon, children in Minar found alluvial diamonds near the pipeline where the volcano erupted, and they boarded ox carts for hiking (in the public domain). Miner's eldest son was not a born farmer. 1896, he sold the northern part of the farm to a man named William Prinslow for 570 pounds.

Prinz Lowe once owned a farm in the Witwatersrand, but soon discovered gold in this area.

People from all over the world gathered in Witwatersrand.

When they invaded Lancelot's land, the influx of gold made him very angry.

He sold his land, went north and bought Ilan Fontaine. I didn't know he had just bought one of the richest diamond mines in the world.

Perhaps Lancelot is the incarnation of King Midas, and everything he touches will turn into gold.

Not everything that glitters is gold, in this case, diamonds.

Thomas Cullinan bought another farm named Frans Porter nearby.

One day, Callinan met a prospector named Percy Tracy. He boasted that he had a 3-carat blue and white diamond, so he hid it in his pocket.

When Callinan asked him where he got the diamonds, Tracy told him about Ilan Fontaine's farm, but warned Callinan that he would not tolerate people breaking into his land.

Despite Callinan's warning, he sent an emissary to the farm.

Tired and dusty, he came to the farmhouse, expecting to be entertained, but Zeus' policy about Fei Rosinha obviously didn't apply to Prinz Luo, because the messenger found himself staring at the barrel of the shotgun, and Prinz Luo threatened him not to even dismount.

The messenger turned the horse's head.

When Prinz Luo betrayed his good fortune, Tyche, the goddess of fortune, turned her head to Prinz Luo, and Anto Lobos, the third goddess of fate, cut off his life.

Prinzlo crossed the intersection and joined Hades. Soon after, he drove the statue of Sir Thomas Cullinan, the courier of Cullinan, away from his land in Petra mining area.

Photo: Mickey Pistorius, gold will be the curse of independent farmers in Bohr.

/kloc-at the end of 0/9, the gold in the Witwatersrand was the driving force for Britain to annex Transvaal and the Free State of Orange. 1899 Ying Bu War broke out.

During the war, Britain implemented the scorched earth in 1996, set fire to Boer farms and buried women and children in concentration camps, forcing Boer people to give up fighting.

1902 On May 3 1, the peace agreement of Villenikin was signed, and Minar and Prinslow returned to their farm, but only the burnt ruins where they once lived were found, and their homes were destroyed.

Tyche is friendly to her new favorite Thomas Cullinan.

Kalinan returned to Ilan Fontaine, but this time he had a clever plan.

He asked Prinz Lowe to allow him to let his cattle graze on this land. They agreed. Soon after, he told them that one of his cows died of terrible anthrax and he had to bury it.

Considering their livestock, they agreed.

Callinan picked up a shovel and began to dig.

This is not a ditch for dead animals. Fortune's darling soon discovered the source of kimberlite he was looking for in diamonds. He offered to buy "farmland" for 5,200 pounds, and registered Premier Diamond Mining Company at 1902, 12, 1, and its business started at 1903.

On 1903, the rest of the farm was sold to Premium Mine.

Prinslaw could have turned over in his grave, because soon a village and a miner's compound appeared on his farm, and the small white cross in the upper right corner was under the gable, indicating the location of the Kalinan diamond embedded in the rock.

(Cullinan Tourism and History) Embedded on the edge of the crater, not far from the surface, it has been sleeping for more than 654.38 billion years and is the largest diamond ever seen in the world.

Diamonds destined to change history.

1At sunset on October 25th, Mr. Fred Wells, the mine manager, was watching the miners finish their day's work.

Mining at that time was carried away by miners with picks, shovels and cocoa powder.

When his eyes slid across the roadway, the last ray of sunlight shone on a rock.

Wells took out his knife and cut at the rock eagerly.

Finally, the diamond was released from its rock shell.

It's so big that Wells can't even wrap it by hand.

This diamond weighs 3 106 carats (62 1 g) and measures 4×2.

5×2 inches (10 cm× 6.

3×5 cm), Fred Wells holds a diamond (photo: John Lincoln), and an interesting fact is the origin of the word "carat".

The seeds in the carrageenan pod are only one carat in size.

The average weight of carob seeds is about 3 1/3, slightly higher than 200 mg.

One carat is exactly 200 milligrams.

In French, carob trees became seeds of carats and carob trees.

William McHardy, the first general manager of the mine, informed Thomas Cullinan of this discovery.

When Callinan bought the farm, he promised his wife that one day he would give her the biggest diamond in the world.

However, Vulcan has bigger plans for his diamonds.

19 10, Callinan was knighted. He gave his wife a necklace of more than 200 diamonds, including 9 rare blue diamonds, to make up for this.

For nearly two years, Callinan was unable to sell this diamond.

On the political front, General louis botha became the Prime Minister of transvaal province and General Jan Smotz became the colonial minister.

Together, they own 40% of Transvaal Diamond Mining Company. They bought the diamond for 6.5438+0.5 million pounds (about 750 thousand dollars at that time) and gave it to King Edward of England. Why did the defeated bull general give such a national treasure to the king of England? Because the conquered need the goodwill of the victors to rebuild their country.

It is said that this diamond was mailed as a parcel, and 9 diamonds were separated from the original diamond (public domain). The king entrusted the Achel brothers in Amsterdam to cut the original stone.

Joseph Achel fainted when we saw the size of the diamond.

The diamond was cut into nine stones and nine big stones.

Above: Cullinans 2, 1 and 3.

Bottom: Cullinan 8, 6, 4, 5, 7 and 9 (public domain), and the largest is a 520.

This 0-carat pear-shaped diamond is called the Cullinan diamond, or the Star of Africa, set on the scepter of the empire, and the second diamond is 3 17.

The 4-carat Cullinan II or smaller African star is embedded in the crown of the British Empire.

They are all on display in the Tower of London. Callinan I/ Africa Star is located in the scepter of the British Empire (Callinan Mine Archives). Seven other stones were given to the Ascher brothers as a reward. However, King Ed bought a piece for his wife Queen Alexandra, and the South African people bought six pieces of South Africa at 19 10, forming an alliance and giving them to Queen Mary.

Today, the star of Africa appears from the darkness of the African land, and an awesome miracle shines on Queen Elizabeth II's scepter and crown. This is the official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II taken after cecil beaton was crowned in 1953.

She wears a crown and a little star from Africa.

The archives of Cullinan mine, Cullinan town has retained the charm of Victorian era, and the ownership of the mine has also changed.

In 2008, it was sold by De Beers to Petra Mining Company.

Kimberlite still has a mining period of 45 years. McHardy Museum is one of the many picturesque Victorian houses in Cullinan town (photo: Mickey Pistorius). Top photo: Main: Rough Cullinan diamonds (public domain).

Illustration: This is one of nine stones (public domain) cut by Mickey Pistorius.

The story of diamond mine 20 1 1.

[E-mail Protection], Byron Fiddes, Cullinan Tourism and History. Turkulinan.co.za, Jane Christian Smotz 1870- 1950, Chronology published by Friends of Smotz Foundation.

Mickey Pistorius is a South African psychologist, writer and journalist.

When he was a child, Mickey Mouse's natural curiosity was cultivated by his parents and developed into an insatiable interest in history, art and literature.

Her passion for history, archaeology and mankind. Read Mor.