largest diamond found in more than a century
Biggest diamond in over century found in Botswana, a whopping 2,492 carats
The largest diamond discovered in over a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana. The monumental gemstone, roughly the size of a fist, was unveiled to the world during a ceremony led by Botswana's President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, on Thursday.
Upon viewing the gem, Masisi gasped, exclaiming, “Wow!” before calling senior government officials to take a closer look at the stone, which weighs approximately half a kilogram.
“These diamonds mean everything to us, in good times and bad,” President Masisi remarked. The yet-to-be-named diamond was presented at the President’s office, with Masisi among the first to hold it.
The Botswana government has announced that the massive 2,492-carat diamond is the second-largest ever discovered in a mine, the biggest since 1905. However, it is still too early to assess the stone’s value or determine how it will be sold. A smaller diamond from the same mine was sold for $63 million in 2016, setting a record for an uncut gem.
Naseem Lahri, managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., the Canadian mining company responsible for the find, attributed the discovery to advanced technology: “The reason we’re able to recover this diamond is because of the technology that we use, which is XRT (X-ray transmission), and that is why we’re so proud of this.”
Lucara announced the recovery of the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in central Botswana on Wednesday. “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said in a statement.
This historic discovery follows closely on the heels of the Paris 2024 Olympics, reminding us that the pursuit of breaking records never truly ceases. With a weight that positions it as the largest diamond found in 119 years and the second-largest ever extracted from a mine, this gem follows in the footsteps of the famed Cullinan Diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905, which weighed 3,106 carats and was cut into jewels that now adorn the British Crown Jewels.
Botswana, a nation of 2.6 million people in southern Africa, is the world’s second-largest producer of natural diamonds, trailing only Russia, and has uncovered some of the largest stones in recent history. The Karowe Mine has yielded four other diamonds exceeding 1,000 carats in the past decade.
Prior to this find, the Sewelo diamond, discovered at the Karowe Mine in 2019, held the title of the world’s second-largest mined diamond at 1,758 carats. It was purchased by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed sum.