Mystery gem for real?
2007-09-06 13:44
Johannesburg - The mystery gem discovered in the North West province last week has been certified as a diamond, according to a report in Mining Weekly on Thursday morning.
According to the weekly trade publication verification of the gem, believed to be the largest diamond discovery in the world, has been completed and a certificate was expected to be available by 13:00.
Brett Jolly, the property developer who owns an interest in the mine where the gem was discovered last Monday afternoon, told the publication he would be meeting with Ernest Blom, chairperson of the Diamond Council of South Africa, on Thursday.
Catching the attention of media around the world, excitement over the "world's biggest diamond" quickly faded into scepticism over the genuine value of the find.
While Jolly was unavailable for comment, his PA said he was tied up at the Diamond Council where papers were being signed. This means that Jolly may well prove the cynics wrong.
Jolly last week described the stone as light green in colour and weighing 1.6kg or about 7 500 carats - which is more than twice the size of the world-record-holder, the Cullinan Diamond, which weighed about 3 106 carats uncut.
The Citizen quoted Blom, who is also president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, as saying if the stone was a diamond it would make "the Cullinan diamond look small. It can be likened to a second Rembrandt. That is how rare it would be," he said.
Jolly acknowledged that the stone would have to be entered into a register by Friday this week, which was also, by law, the last day that the finders would have to report the find to the Department of Minerals and Energy.