Most diamonds are found in kimberlite – a hard volcanic rock. They were created under huge pressure up to 120 miles underground more than a billion years ago and are carbon minerals turned into the hardest naturally occurring substance.
- The biggest diamond ever found was a 3,106.75-carat (621.35g) ‘Cullinan’ mined in South Africa in 1905. It was cut into seven major stones and 96 smaller ones. The largest stones were set into a Sceptre (530.2-carat) and the Imperial State Crown (317.4-carat) for the monarch King Edward VII.
- Artist Damien Hirst made a ‘For the Love of God’ human skull platinum sculpture encrusted with 8,601 diamonds in 2007. It is valued at £50 million.
- A rare pink diamond smashed the world record for a jewel sold at auction when it went for £29 million at Sotheby’s in November 2010. The 24.78-carat ‘Graff Pink’ was bought by British billionaire jeweller Laurence Graff.
