But now Africa accounts for about 80 percent of the world’s diamond production.

Some Famous Diamonds

Diamonds, as mentioned above, are very rare. So rare, in fact, that during all the centuries that men have looked for them only about 400 large ones have been found. Among these is the famous Cullinan diamond, which, in its rough state, weighed 3,106 carats (about 1-1/3 pounds). This was cut into nine large stones and 96 smaller ones. The Star of Africa, which came from the Cullinan, is still the world’s largest cut diamond, weighing 530.2 carats.