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

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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. (Read more De Beers stories.)