Characteristics
At the time of discovery, the diamond had a rhombic dodecahedral form with obtuse angles and twenty four facets. There was a deep depression in one of the facets, indicating that it had accommodated another octahedral crystal. A few black specks were also present, caused by titanic iron or volcanic sand.
The diamond originally weighed 254.5 carats (50.9 g) and was cut into an oval cushion shape weighing 128.48 carats (25.70 g), losing almost half of its weight in the cutting process. The dimensions of the Star of the South were 35 mm x 29 mm x 19 mm.
The light reflected by the diamond is white, and the refracted light is of a rose tint. This is attributed to the prismatic form given to the crystal during its cutting. The Star of the South has a colour grading of light pinkish-brown, pink and brown being two colours that can show up in colourless diamonds of type IIa. It is a plastically deformed diamond of type IIa, and has a clarity of VS2.
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