The second biggest diamond ever found – a rough 2,492-carat stone – has been unearthed in Botswana thanks to specialist X-ray technology.
The gem, uncovered by Canadian mining firm Lucara, is the largest diamond seen in the last 120 years since the discovery of the world-famous Cullinan Diamond.
The 3,106-carat stone was found in neighbouring South Africa in 1905 and was cut into nine separate stones, many of which now form part of the British crown jewels.
It is not known whether the latest diamond to be discovered will yield the highest-quality gems, but the sheer size of the rock means it will likely be worth tens of millions regardless.
‘The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery,’ Lucara’s CEO William Lamb said in the statement following the find.
The gem, uncovered by Canadian mining firm Lucara, is the largest diamond seen in the last 120 years
Pictures show the scale of the huge stone next to a golf ball
Mr Lamb said the firm is ‘ecstatic’ about the gem, which was recovered by X-ray transmission technology first installed in 2017.
It is designed to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds, extracting them from the ground without causing them to break.
Pictures show the huge stone resting in the palm of someone’s hand, with its sheer scale further demonstrated by an image of it dwarfing a golf ball.
The stone was found in the Karowe mine, located roughly 300 miles north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone.
Two other huge diamonds were also found in the mine in recent years – the 1,758-carat Sewelo and 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona.
In 2017, British diamond mogul Laurence Graff paid $53 million (more than £40m) for the 1109 carat Lesedi La Rona.
Two years later, in 2019, Louis Vuitton parted with an undisclosed sum for the 1758 carat Sewelo Diamond.
Botswana is one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, which are its main source of income.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi was due to view the massive stone later Thursday.
The stone appears to not be far behind the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, the 3,016.75-carat Cullinan
The Cullinan III and IV Broach is displayed at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
The stone appears to not be far behind the largest gem-quality diamond ever mined, the 3,016.75-carat Cullinan.
Its scale, as well as its striking blue-white colour and exceptional clarity, made it the most celebrated diamond in the world.
The diamond, which was discovered near Pretoria, was named after the chairman of the mining company, Thomas Cullinan.
It is not known what name Lucara’s latest diamond might take.
The discovery comes amid a lull in diamond sales, with prices falling to their lowest in four years, according to the Diamond Standard Index.
The industry did well during the pandemic, when wealthy customers unable to spend on travel and entertainment wanted to splash out on luxury goods instead.
However, demand has since dipped, and the market has become oversaturated, including by the rise in synthetic stones.