Premier Mine Cullinan Find, 1905
Premier Mine Cullinan Find, 1905
The largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered, recovered on 26 January 1905 by superintendent Frederick Wells
On 26 January 1905, mine superintendent Frederick Wells recovered the 3,106.75-carat Cullinan Diamond from the open-pit workings of the Premier Mine, near Pretoria, South Africa. The stone was visible from the surface, protruding from the wall of the pit approximately five metres below the original ground level, and was prised free by Wells's pocket knife. The Cullinan remains the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, more than three times the weight of the Excelsior diamond — the previous record holder — and the find marks one of the most significant single events in the history of the diamond trade.
The find
The Premier Mine had been in operation since 1902, working an unusually large kimberlite pipe in the Transvaal Colony. By early 1905 the surface workings had reached a depth at which the original kimberlite weathering profile gave way to fresh material, and the diamond-bearing matrix was being worked in open-pit conditions visible to the day-shift inspectors. Wells, conducting a routine inspection on the afternoon of 26 January, observed an unusually bright reflection from the pit wall. On closer examination, he recognised the reflection as a diamond and recovered the stone — initially mistaking the dimensions for a piece of glass placed by a colleague as a prank.
The rough measured approximately 10.1 by 6.35 by 5.9 centimetres and weighed 3,106.75 metric carats — slightly over 621 grams. The stone was Type IIa, with exceptional clarity and a faint blue-white character consistent with the highest grades of Premier production. A flat cleavage face on one side suggested the stone was a fragment of an even larger original crystal, fragments of which have never been recovered.
Sale and presentation
Following its recovery, the Cullinan was purchased by the Transvaal Colony government for £150,000 — a sum reflecting the rough's exceptional character and the political circumstances of post-Boer War Transvaal. The colonial government, in a deliberately calibrated diplomatic gesture, presented the stone to King Edward VII as a token of British-Boer reconciliation in November 1907, on the King's sixty-sixth birthday.
Edward VII subsequently entrusted the cutting to the Asscher Diamond Company of Amsterdam — at the time the only firm considered capable of working a stone of this size and consequence. Joseph Asscher's preparation of the stone, including the celebrated incident in which his initial cleaving blade is said to have broken on the first attempt, has become one of the foundational legends of twentieth-century diamond cutting.
The cut stones
The cleaving and cutting work, completed across approximately eight months in 1908, produced nine major polished stones (designated Cullinan I through IX) and 96 smaller brilliants from the offcuts. The two largest are foundational pieces in the British Crown Jewels: the Cullinan I (the Great Star of Africa, 530.20 carats, set in the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross) and the Cullinan II (the Lesser Star of Africa, 317.40 carats, set in the Imperial State Crown). The remaining stones — Cullinan III through IX — are held in the personal collections of the British Royal Family.
Wells's role and reward
Frederick Wells, the discovering superintendent, received a £3,500 finder's reward — a substantial sum at the time but a small fraction of the rough's purchase price. Wells continued in mining work after the find and the discovery secured his place in the documented history of the trade. The Cullinan find established the Premier Mine's reputation as a source of exceptional Type IIa production, a reputation the operation has continued to live up to across the more than 120 years since.