Foreign News: Jonkers in London

A London postman ambled along Charter House Street, turned in at the office of The Diamond Corp. “Good morning,” said he to a clerk. “Registered parcel for you. sir. A bit brisk out, sir. Just sign here, if you please, sir.” He dipped into his brown canvas sack, passed out a paper package no bigger than a dornick. He touched his cap, ambled out again into Charter House Street. Because the package was addressed personally to Louis Oppenheimer, brother of The Diamond Corp.’s potent Board Chairman Sir Ernest, the clerk took it unopened to his office. Mr. Oppenheimer unwrapped it, took one long awe-struck look, hastily popped box, paper and contents into the safe.

Thus last week was delivered the world’s fourth biggest diamond, the Jonkers, found by a poor South African prospector in January and immediately sold to Sir Ernest Oppenheimer for $312,000 (TIME, Jan.29).

On examination of the Jonkers, London experts last week threw doubt on the first theory that it had once been a chip of the Cullinan, world’s No. 1 diamond, found in 1905 only three miles from Jonkers’ diggings. The Jonkers is bluer and purer, so pure that Diamond Corp. officials were hoping someone rich and ostentatious would come forward to buy it as a single stone. Otherwise it will be sent, possibly to Amsterdam, to be cut up into small diamonds to fit smaller purses.