Cullinan, Gauteng
Encyclopedia
Cullinan is a small town 30 km east of Pretoria
, Gauteng
, South Africa
. Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a rich diamond
pipe here in 1902 and soon afterwards, on 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond
, the largest in the world at 3106 carats (621.2 g), was discovered by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company
. It was bought by the Transvaal government and presented to King Edward VII
.
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a rich diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
pipe here in 1902 and soon afterwards, on 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond
Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at .The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, , also from the...
, the largest in the world at 3106 carats (621.2 g), was discovered by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company
Premier Mine
The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds. It is situated in the town of Cullinan, 40 kilometres east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary...
. It was bought by the Transvaal government and presented to King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
.