The day the biggest diamond was found – level 2

25-01-1905

Africa is a place where people can find really big diamonds. Something very special happened on January 25, 1905, at a diamond mine in South Africa.

During a normal working day at the mine about 6 meters underground, one man saw something very shiny in the wall above him. It was the largest diamond in the world. It weighed 0.6 kilograms.

The diamond was bought by a local government in Africa, which decided to give the diamond to the king of Britain as a present. The king was worried that the diamond could be stolen in transit from Africa to London, so people sent an “official” diamond with many guards on the ship. They also sent the real diamond in a simple box. This trick was successful.

When the diamond arrived in London, somebody had to cut the diamond. Cutting diamonds is a very special job. It is science.

The gem cutter studied the diamond for six months before he started his work. The diamond was cut into nine large stones and about 100 smaller stones. The value of these stones is millions of dollars.

Difficult words: mine (a deep hole in the ground where people find things such as gold, silver, or diamonds), shiny (full of light), cutting (the activity to cut things into smaller things), gem cutter (a person who cuts diamonds or other stones).

What is the technique used to cut diamonds and how has it changed over time?

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