An extraordinary diamond of nearly 2,500 carats discovered in Botswana

A diamond of exceptional size, the second largest in the world at 2,492 carats and barely able to fit in the palm of a hand, has been found in a mine in Botswana, a Canadian mining company announced Thursday. The gemstone, found in the Karowe mine in northeastern Botswana, Africa’s top diamond producer, is “one of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered”Lucara company emphasizes in a press release.

In terms of carats, it is not far from the largest known diamond in the world, the “Cullinan”, at over 3,100 carats. “We are delighted to have recovered this extraordinary diamond”Lucara CEO William Lamb said in the statement, which did not provide details on the value or quality of the discovery. The discovery is linked to an X-ray detection technology developed by Lucara and used since 2017, “which allows larger gemstones to be extracted from the ground without them breaking into pieces”says William Lamb.

Before the discovery announced Thursday, the largest diamond found in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone also mined by Lucara in 2019 and named “Sewelo,” which means “rare find” in the Tswana language. The size of a tennis ball, it was purchased by Louis Vuitton, the flagship brand of luxury giant LVMH, for an undisclosed price. Lucara said in its statement that it also found a 1,174-carat diamond in Botswana in 2021, using the same X-ray technology used to identify the exceptionally large rough diamond this week.