The Red Cross diamond was discovered in Kimberly mines, which belongs to De-Beers Company, South Africa, in 1901. The De-Beers group donated the massive canary yellow stone to Red Cross society and after its sale in Christie's art exhibition, on behalf of the society; it earned the name as "Red Cross diamond".

Characteristics of the sparkling stone :

The diamond is a 205.07 carats weighing, canary yellow, and cushion shaped stone. It is much sought after diamond because of its canary yellow color. The brilliant stellar cut makes the stone unique and notable. Another peculiar feature of this stone is its self- luminous intensity; it absorbs the visible light and emits it in dark. The name of the stone is more appropriate, since the facet of the stone displays the Maltese cross clearly. The presence of trace amount of nitrogen, plastic deformation in cubic structure and exposure to natural irradiation, contributes to the rare color of the stone. Owing to the scattering of nitrogen atoms, it is grouped under type I diamond.

Early history of the diamond :

The stone has its origin in South Africa and it is believed that this exquisite gem is earthed from the Kimberly mine, which is owned by the huge diamond jewelry manufacturing company, De-Beers. Oppenheimer, CEO of De-Beers, generously donated the valuable stone to The British Red Cross society. In 1918, it was exhibited in the art sale, organized by Christie's group, London. A member from European Royal family acquired the stone and it remained there for several years. After few hands change, the stone was put up for an auction, in Tokyo, in 1973, but the stone didn’t meet the reserved price, so it was withdrawn from the auction. Later, in 1977, the stone was again appeared for auction, an anonymous American diamond dealer purchased the stone by paying huge sum of money. The identity of the dealer and the exact amount quoted by him, still remains as mystery.