The small mining village of Cullinan, located east of Pretoria, gained world-wide attention with the discovery on June 25 1905 of an incredible 3108 carat stone, dubbed the Cullinan Diamond - the largest uncut diamond ever found. Over the years more that 120 million carats have been mined.
Other notable gemstones unearthed from the Cullinan Mines include the 755 carat Golden Jubilee, the 600 carat Centenary, and the 530 carat Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, both cut from the Cullinan diamond itself. Today, the giant open pit mine at Cullinan is four times larger than the famous Big Hole of Kimberley! The Cullinan Mine is still fully operational, and in fact still produces 25% of the world's gem-quality diamonds.