Five high-quality blue diamonds were recently recovered from the renowned Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa. 

According to Petra Diamonds Ltd, which owns Cullinan, the Type IIB blue diamonds were of superior quality in terms of colour, clarity and size. The individual stones weighing 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats respectively were not part of a single larger diamond.

Blue diamonds are so rare that no official statistics on their recovery are on record, but the Cullinan mine is known as the world’s most important source of blue diamonds, noted Petra. 

“The last blue diamond of significance was recovered at the mine in September 2019. It is therefore even more unusual to recover five high-quality stones around the same time in the space of a week’s production,” continued the company.

Given the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Petra further said it is still evaluating the optimal route to market for the stones.

Cullinan earned its place in history with the discovery of the Cullinan diamond in 1905, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found at 3,106 carats, which was cut to form the two most important diamonds in the British Crown Jewels.