There are very few women who would turn down a large, sparkling diamond. In fact, most are in agreement that the bigger the diamond the better! Where are the biggest stones to be found? While most people have a general idea of the geographic locations of the world’s most significant diamond lodes, most are not aware of the places where the largest diamonds have, or can be found.Interestingly, diamonds appear in many diverse locations around the globe – from Arkansas to South Africa, and some areas are known for producing colored diamonds, while others are known for simply providing true “whoppers”, or stones of outrageous carat count and size

For example, Arkansas yielded the largest diamond ever found in North America, the “Uncle Sam Diamond” weighing in at an impressive forty carats, while the “Star of Africa”, or the Cullinan I was originally part of three thousand one hundred carat monster of a diamond found in a South African diamond mine in the early 1900s.

Traditionally, there is no set location for the largest stones to be found, and it remains simply the luck of the individual mining companies or private miners when they happen upon a good stone. Some companies or miners use the special skills and equipment of geologists to determine where kimberlite pipes exist, and then estimate the carats per ton of soil within. Kimberlite pipes frequently indicate the presence of diamonds, as they are the ancient remains of early volcanic activity and usually host enormous quantities of diamonds and other valuable minerals.

Only recently, in late November of 2008, the twentieth largest rough diamond ever found, the “Light of Letseng” was auctioned in Antwerp, Belgium. The stone was discovered during regular mining activities in Lesotho, South Africa and purchased for a staggering eighteen million dollars! It weighs in at four hundred and seventy-eight carats, and it is expected to be capable of yielding a nearly flawless cut and polished stone at around one hundred and fifty carats, which means it could end up being one of the largest diamonds of gem quality ever found. (The world’s largest polished diamond is currently the “Golden Jubilee” weighing over five hundred carats and is a yellow/brown in color).

Clearly, the Earth is far from finished providing diamonds and precious stones of epic proportions. If a diamond of truly outrageous size is required however, a searcher would be advised to turn their eye to outer space. While diamonds are considerably rare in Earth’s surface, they still occur with a predictable frequency, and apparently can do so in the limitless reaches of the galaxy as well. In 2004 an astronomer working for Harvard University and the Smithsonian Museum realized that he had found a diamond of approximately ten billion trillion trillion carats. He had located an old star, quite similar to the Sun, that had died and been converted into an enormous piece of crystallized carbon, other wise known as a diamond. He promptly named it “Lucy” after the famous Beatles song, but it is more often referred to as BMP 37093 by scientists and astronomers alike.

Many diamond enthusiasts ask if “Lucy” can be seen, or even better, if it can be harvested, but unfortunately the “white dwarf” star cannot even be seen by the naked eye and would take hundreds of years to reach.

Here on Earth, diamonds are regularly found in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Australia, Russia, South Africa and other countries in Africa as well, and India. There are other locations where diamonds have turned up, but this list represents the major production areas of the current diamond markets.

Who owns the largest stones? Many of the world’s largest diamonds are famous and owned by celebrities, royalty or the super-wealthy. While some are kept from public viewing, and in fact from common knowledge of their whereabouts, there are others that can be seen or are worn in public by their owners.

One place to easily view some of the world’s largest diamonds is the Tower of London in England, where the British Crown Jewels are kept and also put on display. Within that gathering of ceremonial and decorative pieces are the Cullinan I and II (weighing an impressive eight hundred and seventeen carats combined), the Koh-i-Noor, which at one time was the largest cut and polished diamond in the world (an impressive one hundred and five carats of nearly flawless perfection) and the Star of Africa, with its five hundred and thirty carats respectively.

Diamonds of all sizes continue to fascinate and inspire people around the world, they are frequently making headlines for their staggering final prices at auction and the large and valuable stones selected by celebrities for engagement rings and red carpet events create new trends and styles each season.