London, Oct 6 : In what could be termed as a sad end to the excitement created following the discovery of the “world's biggest diamond” in August this year, the stone has been revealed as a fake.

Ernest Blom, the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, has withdrawn from the verification process to test the stone, saying: "I suspect something is afoot."

The so-called diamond's authenticity began to unravel after Brett Jolly, a spokesman for the mining firm Two Point Five Construction, claimed he had been a victim of a fraud.

The Independent quoted Jolly as telling the Mining Weekly Online that he wished he "never was involved with (the diamond) in the first place," adding that he didn't “care any more whether it's a diamond or not.”

The website claimed that on Monday Jolly offered it a chance to test the stone on the condition that it sign a non-disclosure agreement, in which it could be sued if it disclosed any information on the stone before receiving written confirmation. Bu the mining portal declined the offer.

The stone was said to be twice the size of the Cullinan, or Great Star of Africa, discovered near Pretoria in 1905.

And, with the diamond being termed as a fake, De Beers, which owns the Cullinan, expressed relief that it still holds the title of the biggest diamond ever discovered.

“The search for diamonds is so romantic,” said De Beers spokesman Tom Tweedy, adding, “This does illustrate that diamonds hold a mystique with people.”

After the ‘fake’ diamond’s discovery in August, neither the South Africa Diamond Board, nor the Diamond and Jewellery Federation, the trade body, had confirmed its authenticity.

But Jolly announced that the stone was being transported to a bank vault in Johannesburg “until we calm down and decide what we are going to do.” (ANI)