The De Beers Millennium Star
In the Mbuji-Mayi district of Zaire, a perfect rough diamond weighing a lucky 777 carats is discovered by an alluvial digger. He approaches a local De Beers buyer, who immediately recognizes its extraordinary beauty.
Heart of Eternity
This 27.64 carat heart-shaped stone is renowned for the intensity of its color, described by experts as "vivid blue".
The Heart of Eternity was one of 11 rare blue diamonds unveiled to the world in January 2000 as part of a special collection of De Beers Millennium Jewels. This collection, which also featured the famous Millennium Star, was gathered by the De Beers Group over many years to celebrate the new millennium.
Centenary
As De Beers Consolidated Mines approached their 100th year of operations, a diamond of 599 carats and perfect color was recovered from the company's famed Premier Mine. The diamond was cut and polished over 2 years to yield 273.85 carats of internally flawless beauty. The resulting masterpiece, the Centenary Diamond, was unveiled in 1991. With a total of 247 facets, 164 on the stone and 83 on the girdle, the Centenary is the largest modern cut diamond in the world.
Among top-color diamonds, the Centenary is surpassed in size by only the Cullinan I and the Cullinan II, the 2 largest stones cut from the Cullinan. These stones were cut before modern symmetrical cuts were fully developed to maximize the brilliance of a diamond.
Star of South Africa
The Star of South Africa, a 47.69-carat flawless pear-shaped diamond, is considered a symbol of South Africa's great diamond prosperity. Before its discovery in 1869, only the countries of India and Brazil were considered to be serious sources of diamonds and mineral wealth.
Legend has it that the Star of South Africa was exhibited at a session in Parliament shortly after its discovery, causing the Colonial Secretary to declare "This diamond, gentlemen, is the rock upon which the future prosperity of South Africa will be built."
Incomparable
Weighing a massive 407.48 carats, the Incomparable is the third largest diamond ever cut, surpassed only by the Cullinan I and the Golden Jubilee. The stone is remarkable for its unusual triangular shape, called a "triolette", and its fancy brownish-yellow color.
The Incomparable was discovered in the Mbuji Mayi district of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire), almost a decade before the Millennium Star was discovered in the same region.
De Beers Diamond
Shortly after the founding of De Beers Consolidated Mines in 1888, a light-yellow diamond weighing 439.86 carats was recovered from the De Beers mine. Over 200 carats of rough were removed from the stone to create a beautiful light-yellow, cushion-cut diamond. At 234.65 carats, the De Beers remains the seventh largest polished diamond in the world.
