The Rough Stone
The rough stone measured 970 carats in weight and was categorized as Color G. The stone was shaped was like a half a loaf of bread; it was unique and inspired the name Excelsior, which means “higher”. It measured two and ½ inches by two inches by one inch thick. The Excelsior was a colored a stunning white with a tint of blue. It did contain a number of black carbon inclusions, which is typical of diamonds from the Jagersfontein mine. The crystalline structure resembled a fractured icicle (p. 277). From the time of its discovery on June 30, 1893, it was the largest diamond known to exist, until the discovery of the Cullinan Diamond in 1905.
Read more about this topic: Excelsior Diamond
Famous quotes containing the words rough and/or stone:
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—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)
“Certainly ordinary language has no claim to be the last word, if there is such a thing. It embodies, indeed, something better than the metaphysics of the Stone Age, namely, as was said, the inherited experience and acumen of many generations of men.”
—J.L. (John Langshaw)