A massive 2,492-carat rough diamond , believed to be the second biggest ever found, has been unearthed in Botswana , according to a mining company. The huge stone is thought to be the biggest found since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905. Video above: Crimes, Cons and Capers Episode 303: Diamond Dash Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp.
announced Thursday that the "exceptional" gem was found intact in its Karowe mine. Calling it a "remarkable" find, the company celebrated it as "one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed." It was detected, unearthed and recovered thanks to the company's Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, which is designed to "identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds," the company said in a press release.
William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara, said in the release: "We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond." Rough diamonds are usually classified as being gem-quality, near-gem or industrial-quality, depending on their color, clarity, size and shape. Prior to the latest announcement, the second largest discovery was thought to be the Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109-carat stone also found by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2015.
The diamond was sold to luxury jeweler Graff for $53 million two years later. Lucara's spokeswoman said the company had found found six of the top 10 diamonds ever discovered. The stone will be properly evaluated over the .