LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The discovery of the precious stone was made last month at diamond-mining factory, number 16 of the Nyurbinsk ore mining and processing enterprise in the Republic of Yakutia in the northeast of Russia.

Once processed, the gem could be cut into several diamonds, each of them worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, an Alrosa spokesman said in a statement.

Alrosa is one of the largest diamond companies in the world, accounting for about 28 percent of global production, and producing 97 percent of all diamonds in Russia. Alrosa reported has diamond reserves that will enable it to maintain diamond production for more than 25 years.

The new find is the 32nd heaviest ever discovered, According to a list of the world's biggest uncut diamonds on the Web site 24hgold.

The heaviest diamond ever recorded remains the Cullinan stone, found in South Africa in 1905 which weighed in at a whopping 3,106.75 carats. The Cullinan stone was found by Thomas Evan Powell, a miner who brought it to the surface and gave it to Frederick Wells. The stone was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the diamond mine.

That diamond was then split and cut into seven major stones and 96 smaller stones.

Edward VII had the Cullinan I and Cullinan II set respectively into the Scepter with the Cross and the Imperial State Crown.

The second biggest uncut diamond discovered is the 1,000 carat Nameless diamond, found in either Brazil or central Africa, although the date of the discovery is unknown.

At 995.1 carats, the Excelsior which was cut into 21 smaller gems is the third biggest to be found and the famous Star of Sierra Leone, found in 1972, is the third heaviest diamond on the list.

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