This large diamond, weighing in the rough 288⅜ carats, was found at the Vaal River diggings in 1872, and was first sold for £6000 and shortly afterwards for £9000; it was reduced on cutting to 120 carats. Like many South African stones, it has a faint yellowish tinge.
(26) Porter-Rhodes
This blue-white stone, which weighed 150 carats, was found in a claim belonging to Mr. Porter-Rhodes in the Kimberley mine in February 1880.
(27) Imperial, Victoria, or Great White
This large diamond weighed as much as 457 carats in the rough, and 180 when cut; it is quite colourless. It was brought to Europe in 1884, and was eventually sold to the Nizam of Hyderabad for £20,000.
(28) De Beers
A pale yellowish stone, weighing 428½ carats, was found in the De Beers mine in 1888. It was cut to a brilliant weighing 228½ carats, and was sold to an Indian prince. A still larger stone of similar tinge, weighing 503¼ carats, was discovered in 1896, and among other large stones supplied by the same mine may be mentioned one of 302 carats found in 1884, and another of 409 carats found in early years.
(29) Excelsior
This, which prior to the discovery of the ‘Cullinan,’ was by far the largest South African stone, was found in the Jagersfontein mine on June 30, 1893; bluish-white in tint, it weighed 969½ carats. From it were cut twenty-one brilliants, the larger stones weighing 67⅞, 4513/16, 4511/16, 393/16, 34, 27⅞, 25⅝, 2311/16, 1611/32, 13½ carats respectively, and the total weight of the cut stones amounting to 3643/32 carats.