Maxi diamond discovered in Botswana

It would be far too big for a ring. But the 2,492-carat, or 498-gram, rough diamond discovered in Botswana will likely be transformed into several exceptional jewels. The stone appears to be the second-largest quality diamond ever found. The discovery was announced by the Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond. The image leaves no doubt: the rough diamond is truly enormous. The only thing larger than this gem is the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905, when it was still a British colony, and given to King Edward VII. It was cut into several gems, some of which are now part of the British Crown Jewels.

It is difficult to determine the value of a stone of this type. The Karowe mine, where the stone was mined, has already produced very large stones. In 2019, for example, Lucara mined the 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond, which was later purchased by Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed sum. Another large diamond, called the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona, also came from Karowe, and was purchased by British jeweler Graff for $53 million in 2017.
But the largest diamond ever found is black: the Sergio stone, discovered in Brazil in 1895 and cut for use in industrial drilling. Black stones like these, called carbonado, are thought to be parts of meteorites.