Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond was found below the surface at Premier Mine in Cullinan, Transvaal Colony, by Frederick Wells, surface manager at the mine, on 26 January 1905. It was approximately long, wide, deep, and weighed . Newspapers called it the "Cullinan Diamond", a reference to Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine in 1902. It was three times the size of the Excelsior Diamond, found in 1893 at Jagersfontein Mine, weighing . Four of its eight surfaces were smooth, indicating that it once had been part of a much larger stone broken up by natural forces. It had a blue-white hue and contained a small pocket of air, which at certain angles produced a rainbow, or Newton's rings.
Aurora Green Diamond
The Aurora Green Diamond is a vivid green diamond with VS2 clarity. In May 2016, the Aurora Green became the largest vivid green diamond to ever sell at auction. The record was previous held by a 2.54 carat Fancy Vivid Green VS1 diamond that was sold by Sotheby’s on November 17, 2009 for $1.22 million per carat according to the Diamond Investment & Intelligence Center. On May 31, 2016, the diamond, which was originally owned by Scarselli Diamonds was sold by Christie's for a record price per carat of $3.3 million to Chinese jewelry company Chow Tai Fook, totaling $16.8 million.