Enormous Green Diamond Found

imageA Cape Town property developer, Brett Jolly, is claiming that a mine he owns shares in has found what could be the largest diamond ever, weighing in at 7000 carats. Plus, it's green.

By contrast, the largest diamond found to date is only 3106.75 carats. And the largest green diamond only 40.7 carats.

Initial reports said that this new diamond was as big as a soccer ball, but a photo of it has now been released, and in the photo it doesn't look quite that large. I'd say it looks only about as big as a softball. Which is still pretty big. In the photo it's sitting on a table next to a cellphone.

However, most experts are extremely skeptical of the find. No one is being allowed to examine it. So far, the photo is the only proof of its existence, and in the photo, as News24.com notes, "it looks conspicuously smooth on top, almost like a paperweight."

Experts also note that it comes from an area not known for producing large diamonds.

It all sounds very fishy to me. (Thanks to Eric Laurence)

Business/Finance

Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007


Comments

From the image, I'd say that it looks worked - at least a little. Diamonds are usually imbedded in the surrounding rock, so that has to have been cleaned off, which may account for the flat surface, diamonds are easily cleavable. However, why no supporting evidence that it is indeed a diamond? My guess is a hoax, but not because of the flat surface.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Wed Aug 29, 2007  at  07:32 PM
It seems suspicious to me that a giant, green diamond was found by someone with the surname Jolly. Ho ho ho . . .
Posted by Clare  on  Wed Aug 29, 2007  at  08:26 PM
They never said it was a diamond, only that a large gem had been found of around 7000 carats, the press simply assumed it was and ran the stories. The gem is still in testing in Johannesburg to determine if it is indeed a diamond.
Posted by Prieur  on  Wed Aug 29, 2007  at  11:14 PM
Lets not forget the Hope Diamond. Its very shiny and a wonderful blue color. I saw it many years ago, but its oh-so-nice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond
Posted by RiveR StyX  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  12:40 AM
Looks like glass to me.
Posted by Nona  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  08:02 AM
I was given the opportunity to see some diamonds in their pre-processed form. I was disappointed, to say the least, to be presented with what appeared to be rocks interlaced with pieces of frosted, dirty glass. They don't come out of the ground looking like an engagement ring.

This picture seems to show a "diamond" with definite, regular facets (i.e., cut by man). It strikes me as odd that someone would claim to have FOUND a gem and had it cut before showing it off. If one were to find a gem of that size, it would be very important to find a very good cutter to make sure the size was maintained as much as possible.

I vote for glass.
Posted by Pokey  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  11:27 AM
It was found already cut and polished?

Obviously it's a diamond placed there by space aliens!

From what I understand, the diamond mines will never turn up a very large diamond again because their automated machinery breaks everything to smaller sizes.
Posted by JoeDaJuggler  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  02:42 PM
Nice piece of glass. The least they could have done was to cut it to the right (octahedral) shape for a diamond.
Posted by Phred  on  Sat Sep 01, 2007  at  06:19 AM
Thats not a diamond but a Windjammer Deck Prism a colored piece of glass that was used to bring light into a cabin below deck on a ship it was set in the deck. I saw a new one for sale in a catalog in the past few years, same color too.
http://www.salemclock.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=14
Posted by EDWARD III  on  Wed Sep 05, 2007  at  12:58 PM
Of course it's a hoax, there are no green diamonds, the guides I have seen only have blue
http://www.diamonds.uk.com/static/guide/colour.html
Posted by Mike  on  Sat Aug 30, 2008  at  09:16 AM
I must admit, it is a beautiful looking stone and I wouldn't mind having the noney it could represent. But my biggest thought is, What good is a stone of that size? If it's just to be kept locked up in some vault, somewhere. I really can,t see someone with it on their finger, or around their neck. Go ahead and enlighten me
Posted by Nose hair trimmers  on  Fri Jan 08, 2010  at  07:45 AM
I was disappointed, to say the least, to be presented with what appeared to be rocks interlaced with pieces of frosted, dirty glass. They don't come out of the ground looking like an engagement ring.
Posted by Leather Bracelet  on  Sat Apr 10, 2010  at  12:45 AM
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