After the reported discovery of the world's second biggest diamond in Botswana, a massive 2,492-carat stone by Canadian mining company Lucara, here are other famous diamond discoveries: Biggest ever: the Cullinan The largest gem-quality diamond ever found, by far, is believed to be the Cullinan, discovered in 1905 in South Africa and weighing 3,106 carats. Among the stones cut from it was the Star of Africa, which is part of the British crown jewels on display in the Tower of London. Dethroned: Sewelo The 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond was until Thursday the second biggest diamond in history.
It was mined in Botswana also by Lucara in 2019. Luxury group LVMH, owned by Bernard Arnault, previously listed as the world's richest man, bought the tennis-ball sized diamond in January 2020. Read more: Edgy, chic or classic: The hottest jewellery trends to up your fashion game Lesedi La Rona The 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona – a diamond also the size of a tennis ball – was discovered at Karowe, northeastern Botswana, also by Lucara in November 2015.
It was bought by British jeweller Laurence Graff for US$53mil (approximately RM231mil) in September 2017. Many discoveries in Botswana Other exceptional diamonds have been found over the past four years in Botswana by Lucara (1,174 carats in June 2021, 1,080 carats in August 2023 and 998 carats in November 2020) and by Debswana, which is jointly owned by the South African government and diamond company De Beers (1,098 carats in June 2021). Th.