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Large Diamond deposits are found!

The next country where diamond deposits were discovered was………..Africa!  Did you guess right?  By 1870, South Africa took the lead from Brazil.   It was the discovery of the Star of South Africa in 1869, which sparked the diamond rush in South Africa.  This diamond was 83.50ct!  Soooo big!!!  The diamond was sold for $56,000 in 1869!  That’s a lot of money even for today’s standards!  The diamond was fashioned into a 47.69ct pear-shaped brilliant cut, which was sold to Earl of Dudley for $125,000!  Wow!  In 1974, it was sold at an auction for $500,000!  The vast diamond deposits in South Africa attracted thousands of people in search of work and fortune.  One such person, Cecil B. Rhodes, arrived in 1870, from England at the young age of 17 years old.  By the age of 19, he was the most influential person in the diamond industry.  By around 1888, Rhodes established a company to control all diamond operations in South Africa.  Can you guess the name of his company?  I’ll tell you next month…….!