A diamond in the rough: Carbon lucky dip contains diamond ring among coal booby prizes

Tomorrow one lucky member of the public will pull a diamond ring from a lucky dip, celebrating the glamour and importance of carbon in our lives.

Against the background of Carbon Rapture, an exhibit of three fascinating sculptures commissioned by the RSC, the winner will come face to face with the most bewitching form of carbon.

At 12:30 PM, participants will be chosen at random to try their luck and see what they can pull from the RSC's Diamond Lucky Dip.

Twenty ring-boxes will be hidden in the tub; in nineteen of these are lumps of coal, but one contains an elegant diamond ring.

The sculptures themselves are as arresting as the glinting prize, showcasing the power, utility and beauty of the element made a villain by the media.

While curbing the world's carbon emissions is essential, Carbon Rapture reminds us that carbon takes many useful and interesting forms.

Comprising over 31,000 glassy beads, the diamond sculpture is the largest model of diamond's molecular structure in the world. Its compelling symmetry from many angles makes all passers-by stop and contemplate the hardest and most beautiful form of carbon.

The football-shaped buckyball (Buckminsterfullerene or C60) sparked a nanotechnology revolution, and won its discoverers, Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley and Robert Curl, the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Monolithic and weighing over a ton, the graphite electrode on display is used in industry, and is one of the largest synthetic pieces of graphite in the country.

The RSC will be distributing free raffle tickets from 7 AM on 23 July outside Burlington House, Piccadilly (between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park tube stations). Strictly one ticket per person!

At 12:30 PM (lunchtime!) a raffle ticket stub will be drawn at random, and the holder of the winning ticket may pick one box from the lucky dip. This will be repeated until someone picks the diamond ring.