Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save GABORONE, Botswana — The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana, and the country's president showed off the fist-sized stone to the world at a viewing ceremony Thursday. The Botswana government says the huge 2,492-carat stone is the second-biggest ever discovered in a mine. It's the biggest diamond found since 1905.
Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds the 2,492-carat diamond that was unearthed at one of its mines and will be put on show, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Gaborone. The as-yet-unnamed diamond was presented to the world at the office of Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
It weighs approximately half a kilogram and Masisi was one of the first to get to hold it. Officials said it was too early to value it or decide how it would be sold. Another smaller diamond from the same mine in Botswana was sold for $63 million in 2016, a record for a rough gem.
“This is history in the making,” said Naseem Lahri, the Botswana managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., the Canadian mining company that found the diamond. “I am very proud.
It is a product of Botswana.” People are also reading..
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22, 2024, in Gaborone. Lucara said in a statement Wednesday that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in central Botswana. Lucara said it was a "high-quality" stone and was found intact.
It was located using X-ray technology designed to find large diamonds. “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said in a statement. The weight would make it the largest diamond found in 119 years and the second-largest ever dug out of a mine after the Cullinan Diamond that was discovered in South Africa in 1905.
The famous Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which form part of the British Crown Jewels. FILE - The Sovereign's Scepter with Cross, left, and the Imperial State Crown, sit on the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it passes through Horse Guards Parade during her state funeral in London, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Two stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough diamond ever found, will feature prominently in King Charles III coronation ceremony on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Cullinan I, a huge drop-shaped stone weighing 530.2 carats, is mounted in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross.
Cullinan II, a cushion-shaped gem of 317.4 carats, is mounted on the front of the Imperial State Crown that Charles will wear as he leaves Westminster Abbey. (Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool Photo via AP, File) A bigger, less pure black diamond was discovered in Brazil in the late 1800s, but it was found above ground and was believed to have been part of a meteorite.
Botswana, a country of 2.6 million people in southern Africa, is the second-biggest producer of natural diamonds behind Russia and has unearthed all of the world's biggest stones in recent years. The Karowe Mine has produced four other diamonds over 1,000 carats in the last decade.
Before this discovery, the Sewelo diamond, which was found at the Karowe Mine in 2019, was recognized as the second-biggest mined diamond in the world at 1,758 carats. It was bought by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount. The 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, also from Botswana's Karowe Mine, was bought by a British jeweller for $53 million in 2017.
Another diamond from Karowe, The Constellation, was sold for the record $63 million. Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed together under high pressure deep underground. Scientists say most diamonds are at least a billion years old and some of them more than 3 billion years old.
Is it time to say 'I do' to manufactured diamonds? The rise of the lab-grown diamond industry Is it time to say 'I do' to manufactured diamonds? The rise of the lab-grown diamond industry From golden age movie musicals to Billboard-charting songs, diamonds are embedded in cultures throughout the world. Egyptians saw diamonds as symbols of power. Indian myths have the deity Krishna giving his beloved a diamond to reflect her beauty.
Romans and Greeks thought diamonds were splinters of falling stars. Using data from the Kimberley Process , an international body meant to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market, Jewel360 examined the growing lab-grown diamond industry and what it means for traditionally produced gems. In 2023, the global diamond market is expected to grow to $2.
55 billion from $2.43 billion last year, driven by rising disposable incomes, especially in China and India, according to the Business Research Company. This increase, however, comes against a backdrop of growing interest in lab-grown diamonds.
The sales of lab-grown diamonds reached $12 billion in 2022, up 38% from 2021, according to data from industry analyst Paul Zimnisky. As of September 2022, the sales value of natural diamond engagement rings dropped 47.2%, while lab-grown diamond engagement rings showed a slight uptick at 0.
8%, according to diamond industry analyst Edahn Golan. "The big fear in the natural diamonds industry is that consumers will start accepting lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings," Golan told CNN . "It's actually happening.
" The surprisingly long history of manufactured diamonds Though the technology sounds new and cutting-edge, lab-produced gemstones have existed for over a century. Geneva rubies, manufactured gems, appeared in the market during the 1880s and were sold as natural gems. Lab-grown diamonds emerged in 1954 when GE scientists used high-pressure, high-heat technology to produce the first .
It wasn't until the 1980s that they were more commercially available. Unlike imitation gems such as cubic zirconia, lab-grown diamonds are identical, chemically speaking, to natural diamonds. Continued investment in technology has helped them reach their status today.
Major jewelry brands in the U.S. have embraced the trend.
Pandora sells an entire lab-grown collection starting at $290 for a 0.15-carat ring. Swarovski has also introduced a line of lab diamonds in addition to their popular crystal products.
In the U.S., consumers will know what kind of diamond they buy.
Federal Trade Commission regulations require that lab-grown diamonds be advertised as such, which impacts the price of these diamonds and, ultimately, retailer profits. Seven years ago, the average lab-grown diamond sold for 10% less than a traditional diamond, according to Zimnisky's data. The price gap has widened since then, with a 1-carat lab-grown jewel selling for 80% less than natural stones today.
"The global production capacity of lab-diamonds has exploded in recent years, and it is expected that the trend will likely continue for at least the next few years," Zimnisky explained in a post. "This dynamic has boosted the supply and pressured prices of lab-diamonds." That price variation, fueled by differences in availability, may keep some legacy, high-end jewelry brands from adopting lab-grown technology.
Former Tiffany's executive Andy Hart told the jewelry publication JCK in 2019, "Our position is lab-grown diamonds are not a luxury material. We don't see a role for them in a luxury brand." Though Tiffany's has held steadfast in that position so far, it may have to change its tune.
Its parent company LVMH, which includes Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, is investing in lab-grown diamonds . It has since put these diamonds on the TAG Heuer Carrera Plasma watch in 2022. Jean Dousset, founded by the great-great-grandson of Louis Cartier, exclusively sells lab-grown diamonds.
Ethical tensions of traditionally mined diamonds Established in 2003, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme emerged from United Nations negotiations to improve transparency in the diamond supply chain. The term "blood diamond," or stones mined in conflict zones to finance the fighting, became prominent after conflicts in Angola, Congo, and Sierra Leone piqued international attention. Participating countries must have national legislation and institutions overseeing the industry, trade controls, and data transparency.
According to human rights groups , the Kimberley Process does not go far enough in ensuring ethical supply chains for diamonds. Even the World Diamond Council has advocated for updates to the Kimberley Process. "The KPCS today offers incomplete solutions, for the current definition of 'conflict diamonds' is ineffective in preventing all instances of systemic violence," Edward Asscher, president of the organization, said in a 2022 speech to the Kimberley Process Plenary.
In light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are expected to announce a ban on importing Russian diamonds. Russia's gems are still certified under the Kimberley Process, but other nations argue the industry is supporting its ongoing war in Ukraine. The Kimberley Process specifies diamond sales can't fund activities of rebel groups, which would not affect Russia's certification under its guidelines.
A shifting landscape for diamond production The growing availability of lower-cost diamonds could shift the traditional dominance of certain countries in the diamond industry. India, already a major stone-polishing hub, accounts for 15% of global lab production . China and the U.
S. have also become early leaders, with China accounting for the largest share. Billions of years ago, natural diamonds formed deep below the Earth's surface, where temperatures can reach over 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are two main methods that replicate this natural occurrence in a controlled environment: chemical vapor deposition and the high-pressure/high-temperature process. HPHT requires pressing a pure carbon material, like graphite, in extremely high temperatures and pressures for hours or weeks, depending on the stone size. The CVD process takes a thin slice of a diamond or graphite.
It exposes it to a blend of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen gasses and high temperatures to crystalize the material. It takes days to weeks, but can produce multiple at once. CVD diamonds typically undergo additional heat treatment to remove the yellowish tone they develop from the chamber.
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