In addition to inheriting the throne, King Charles III became the owner of the stunning Cullinan Diamond when he succceeded his mother in September. The piece is the largest gem-quality diamond ever found and was gifted to King Edward VII for his birthday by the South African Government in 1907. The piece is worth over £392 million ($400 million) in modern currency and was so large it had to be cut down into nine smaller diamonds before they were used to create some stunning jewellery for the Royal Family, including the crown Queen Consort Camilla.
Goldsmith Chante Nieuwhof told Express.co.uk: “The Cullinan diamond was too big, and it wasn’t possible to put the whole diamond in a crown or any other piece of jewelry, which led to the diamond to be split into nine separate pieces.
“The worth of the stone would be an estimated USD 400 million in the current market.
“There are nine large pieces of the diamond, totalling approximately 1,055 carats, besides other smaller cuts.”
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Considering the Cullinan diamond’s previous use in coronation ceremonies, the pieces could be used to accesorise Queen Consort Camilla’s outfit when King Charles is crowned on May 6.
The Palace has yet to reveal the full details of the ceremony and which of the Crown Jewels will be used for the Coronation but this week they confirmed the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond will not be used.
The Queen Consort will recycle Queen Mary’s crown rather than have one created especially fo the occasion but the controversial diamond will not be included.
The Palace said in a statement: “The choice of Queen Mary’s crown by her majesty is the first time in recent history that an existing crown will be used for the coronation of a consort instead of a new commission being made, in the interests of sustainability and efficiency.”
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Koh-i-Noor’s ownership has long been disputed as it was gifted to Queen Victoria in 1849 after being seized by the East India Company.
A spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata party, whose leader is current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was recently reported as saying the Koh-i-Noor diamond “brings back painful memories of the colonial past”.
Cullinan III and IV were both part of Queen Mary’s crown during the 1911 Coronation but were later taken out to be used as part of other sets or as broaches.
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