The mining company Lucara Diamonds has discovered a huge 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana that barely fits in the palm of your hand.
The gemstone, which was found at the Karowe mine in the northwest of the country, is “one of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered,” Lucara CEO William Lamb said in a press release.
According to experts, this diamond is exceptionally large and would be the second largest in the world ever found on earth.
In terms of carats, it is not far from the largest known diamond in the world, the “Cullinan”, weighing more than 3,100 carats, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
“We are delighted to have recovered this extraordinary diamond,” Lamb said.
The mining company has not yet commented on the value of the stone or its quality, but is expected to provide further details in the coming days.
“The historic discovery of this rough diamond, the most important in 120 years, is exciting,” said Tobias Kormind, Europe’s largest online jeweller and CEO of 77 Diamonds.
According to the expert, this discovery was largely due to “the recent technology” of X-ray detection, developed by the company Lucara and used since 2017, which “allows the largest precious stones to be extracted from the ground without breaking them, so it is possible that we will see others emerge.”
Kormind also noted that the largely translucent stone is “the largest rough diamond discovered since the discovery of the “Cullinan” diamond cut into several pieces, the largest of which was “set in the British Crown Jewels.”
According to official information, Botswana is one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, which constitute its main source of income, representing 30% of GDP and 80% of its exports.
The diamond revenues that Botswana generates are therefore “considerable socio-economic benefits” by “financing essential areas such as education and health” as well as the infrastructure of this country of 2.6 million inhabitants, Lucara stressed.
Until earlier this week, the largest diamond ever found in Botswana was a 1,758-carat diamond, also mined by the Lucara company in 2019. The gemstone is named Sewelo, which means “rare find” in the Setswana language.
The stone, which is the size of a tennis ball, was sold to Louis Vuitton, but for security and confidentiality reasons, it is unknown how much was paid for it.
Sewelo is not the only stone found at this location. In 2021, the aforementioned company, using its technology, also found a 1,174-carat diamond, so it is believed that the mine has more precious stones.