10 Largest Diamonds Ever Discovered

Want to know which are the largest diamonds ever discovered? White, yellow, pink, brown, blue, red, green… diamonds come in many colors, shapes, and carats, but all are equally fascinating to humankind. Known and valued since ancient times, these gemstones are not only precious, but also useful. In fact, the carbon allotrope is employed for industrial purposes due to its extreme hardness and high thermal conductivity, which is where the phrase ‘diamonds are forever’ gets its scientific meaning from.

But, let’s face it, diamonds main appeal to us is their beauty. Almost hypnotizing, these gemstones are the most valuable and coveted in the world; so much so, that they have been entangled in numerous conflicts and controversies. If you’ve watched the film Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, you know that the diamond mining industry’s practices are indeed a contentious issue.

For those of you who are not familiar with the so called ‘blood diamonds’ or ‘conflict diamonds’, they are those mined in a war zone and then sold to finance the operations of a revolutionary group or a warlord’s activity. This type of mining and trading takes place in Central and West African countries, where the political instability since post-colonial times favored such activities. If you are further interested in the mining industry, you should check out our list on The Biggest Mines in the World: From Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX) to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX).

In compiling this countdown of the largest diamonds ever discovered, we decided to rank diamonds by their weight as rough stones; that is to say, in the form they were originally found, before being cut into smaller pieces and sold. Although ‘diamond’ comes from a Greek word that means ‘unbreakable’, they can be cut and shaped. As a matter of fact, diamond cutting is a scientific discipline, even an artistic workmanship that has been perfecting its techniques for hundreds of years. The goal of diamond cutting is to achieve the maximum reflection of light, as well as preserving the largest portion of the stone possible.

Are you curious about the largest diamonds ever discovered thus far? Let’s take a look at the countdown!