The Biggest Gems in the World
The main picture that people conjure in their minds, when they are talking about gemstones, precious stones or jewels is that of great treasures that are hidden deep in the Earth, which are very bring in color, and just waiting for the tenacious explorer to find them. Throughout history, Man has been searching for the world´s biggest gemstone, and many have gone on long and expensive trips in order to look for such a gemstone. Many people have packed up their families and belongings in the search for the elusive gemstones, whenever they are mentioned in any part of the world. Apart from a few who are able to find gemstones, this is an elusive dream for many people in the world.
Depending on how many people define the term "World", the size of the biggest diamond in the world may vary. It should come as no surprise that the largest diamond ever found, was fund in outer space floating in the middle of a dead star. This diamond is truly amazing, with a width of about 2,500 miles. And a carat weight that is mind blowing; 10 million trillion trillion carats. This would be the dream of any gemstone explorer, but at a distance of about 50 light year from Earth, it will continue to be just a dream, that is beyond reach.
However, here on Earth, the biggest gemstone ever, was found in August 2007, by a mining company that was located in one of the North Western Provinces of South Africa. Before this discovery, the records was held by the Cullinan, which was also found in South Africa, in Pretoria, in 1905. This was the largest of all cut diamonds with a carat weight of 530.20. The record was shattered by the Golden Jubilee in the year 1985, with a record weight of 545.67 carats. It is said that the latest record holder may weigh in at more than a thousand carats, but this is as yet to be verified.
When it comes to the largest ruby, there is quite a lot of controversy over which stone holds the record. The Rajaratna Ruby, which is one of the most famous is said to be about 2,475 carats in weight, which at the end of 1986, was unveiled by the owner, known as Mr. G. Vidyaraj, who lived in Bangalore India, who was bequeathed the stone from his ancestors. The ancestors turned out to be the kings of the Empire known as Vijayanagar. However, another ruby, known as the 125West Ruby, which has also undergone certification by the Gemology Institute of America, later took the record and weighs in at 18, 696 carats, or 8.2 pounds. There are more claims that come from Myanmar, saying that there is another Ruby that weighs in at a mind boggling 21,450 carats.
The Chaito Ruby, is another stone that has a claim on the record of being the largest ruby in the world, and weighs in at 109,000 carats, but there is a lot of scandal and mystery surrounding this gemstone. There have been wrangles about the ownership of this stone, and there have been other stories that the gemstone is a fake, having been manufactured synthetically by the Burmese, and has multiple colors.
When it comes to emeralds, there have been tales that the largest uncut emerald was found in 1974, in a Brazilian town of Carnaiba. This amazing gemstone weighed in at a fascinating 85,136 carats, and was a truly natural beryl, which had a financial values if about 1,120,080 United States dollars. In the year 2005, however, another gemstone was dug up my miners in Madagascar, and they said that the gemstone weighed in at 1,182 pounds, and this contests to be the largest uncut emerald in the world.
Another gemstone that is truly amazing is a pearl which was collected by a Filipino divers, of the coast of the Palawan Island, way back in 1934. In the beginning, it was called the Pearl of Allah, but that soon changed, and today, its official name is the Pearl of Lao Tzu. It has dimensions of 5.5 by 9.5 inches, and has a weight of 14 pounds. Today this pearl has a financial value of about 40 million united stated dollars.
