The Millennium Star

Over the coming weeks, we will be taking a look at some of the world’s most incredible and well-known diamonds.

We begin our series with the Millennium Star, a beautiful pear shaped diamond. Originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this rock was discovered in the alluvial mines of the Mbuji-Muyi region. The original stone weighed an incredible 777 carats, and remains the second largest D colour diamond ever to be polished. It is also internally and externally flawless! The rough diamond was purchased by luxury jewellers De Beers in 1990, and was carved into the classic pear shape by expert craftsmen; who took more than three years to produce the finished cut.

The Millennium Star is a highly coveted diamond, and has seen much publicity and even attempts of robbery! In October 1999, the diamond was the centrepiece of an exhibition in London’s Natural History Museum. Whilst it was on display, the Metropolitan Police received information that criminals were plotting to steal gems on display, including the Millennium Star itself. The exhibition was immediately closed under the recommendation of Scotland Yard.

In 2000, the Millennium Star was the centre of another robbery attempt. A collection of the world’s rarest and most valuable diamonds were displayed in London’s Millennium Dome to mark the turn of the Century. Once again, the Metropolitan Police foiled plans of a robbery; this time, they intercepted plans of a daring smash attempt to steal the priceless diamond and escape by speedboat! In a dramatic Hollywood-style twist, the police replaced the real diamond with a replica before the arranged break-in, and were on hand to arrest the robbers before they could escape. It is generally considered that, had the criminals been successful in their attempts, this would have been the largest robbery in the world!

To view our collection of beautiful loose pear shaped diamonds, click here