Tests Will Tell if Big Stone Is Indeed Gem

Could be world’s largest diamond
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2007 8:23 AM CDT
Tests Will Tell if Big Stone Is Indeed Gem
This photo downloaded Tuesday Aug. 28, 2007 with permission from the Mining Weekely Online Website as sourced from Brett Jolly shows a diamond reportedly twice as big as the Cullinan diamond, placed next to a mobile phone for size perspective, which was found in the North West province, South Africa....   (Associated Press)

A South African mining company will know soon if they’ve found the world’s largest diamond, with tests scheduled for next week. The light-green stone was found several days ago; experts say it may turn out to only a fluorite crystal, the BBC reports. A spokesman for De Beers, the world' s biggest diamond miner, said a positive result on the gem would make it the stone of the century.

The unnamed and potentially very lucky company is standing by its rock. But critics wonder whether a diamond so massive could even exist—and say the area in a northwest province that yielded the ballyhooed object doesn’t have a rep for yielding jewels. (More De Beers stories.)

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