Prolific Cullinan Mine Delivers Another Diamond for the Ages, a 232-Carat Stunner That May Yield $20 Million

The famed Cullinan mine in South Africa continues to produce a parade of mind-numbing rough diamonds, including this 232-carat D-color stunner that’s the size of a strawberry and has the potential to sell in the range of $20 million.

Petra Diamonds, which owns and operates the Cullinan Mine, reported that the colorless diamond is rated Type II, which means it has no measurable nitrogen impurities.

Petra spokesperson Cathy Malins told JCKOnline.com that "the diamond is practically see-through, so it is very likely to produce a flawless stone.”

The mining company expects to sell the rough diamond sometime between October and December.

Petra’s mammoth find, which looks like a remnant of an ice sculpture, is the largest colorless diamond to come from the Cullinan mine since 2009, when it yielded the 507-carat Cullinan Heritage.

The London-based Petra Diamonds has had a run of incredibly good fortune in 2014. Back in February, we reported that Petra sold an “exceptional” acorn-sized 29.6-carat vivid blue rough diamond to luxury jeweler Cora International for $25.6 million.

Only last month, Cora showed off the transformation of that rough diamond — sourced at Cullinan — into a 12-carat internally flawless cushion-cut masterpiece named “Blue Moon.” On Saturday, that stone will be headlining a 16-week exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

In mid-June, Petra unveiled a 122.52-carat blue rough diamond found at the Cullinan mine. Analysts said at the time that it could sell for more than $35 million and set a new record.

The recent spate of newsworthy diamonds coming from the Cullinan mine is hardly impressive when compared to the granddaddy of them all — the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was found in 1905 and eventually segmented into the stones that are part of the British Crown Jewels. These include the Great Star of Africa (Cullinan I) at 530.4 carats and the Second Star of Africa (Cullinan II) at 317.4 carats.

(Photos courtesy of Petra Diamonds)