This enormous, light yellow diamond was discovered in the De Beers mine in March 1888. At 228.5 carats -- it shed 200 carats in the cutting stage -- it is the seventh largest cut diamond in the world.

It was bought by the Maharaja of Patiala and, in 1928, Cartier Paris set it as the centrepiece of a spectacular ceremonial necklace that came to be known as the Paitala necklace (inset).

With the dawn of India's independence in 1947, the necklace disappeared -- presumably, many of its famed precious stones, including the De Beers, were individually sold by family members.

The De Beers was not seen again until May 6, 1982, when it came up for auction at Sotheby's in Geneva; it was sold for $3.16 million.

The De Beers is the second largest faceted yellow diamond and the largest cushion-cut yellow diamond in the world. It is also the seventh largest faceted diamond in the world.

Information courtesy: De Beers Group, Internetstones.com