| Weight | 47.69[1] carats (9.54 g) |
|---|---|
| Color | white |
| Cut | pear |
| Country of origin | Cape Colony |
| Date discovered | 1869 |
| Original owner | John O'Rielly |
The Star of South Africa, also known as the Dudley Diamond, is a 47.69 carats (9.54 g) white diamond found by a Griqua shepherd boy in 1869. The original stone, before cutting, weighed 83.5 carats (16.7 g).[2]
The shepherd sold the stone for the hefty price of 500 sheep, 10 oxen and 1 horse to Schalk van Niekerk, a neighboring farmer with a reputation for collecting unusual stones.[3] Van Niekerk sold the stone on to the Lilienfield Brothers in Hopetown for £11,200. The Lilienfield Brothers sent it to England where it changed hands twice before finally being bought by the Countess of Dudley for £25,000.[4][5] William Ward, the Earl of Dudley had it mounted with 95 smaller diamonds in a head ornament.[4]
The diamond stayed in the Wards' possession until 2 May 1974 when it was sold on auction in Geneva for 1.6 million Swiss Francs, equivalent to around £225,300 (£1,748,860 as of 2012),[6] at the time.