A diamond weighing 2,492 carats has been found in a Botswana mine. It is one of the largest ever discovered.
This sizeable gemstone was unearthed in the Karowe mine in northeast Botswana, the mining company Lucara said in a statement. The stone is so large it barely fits in the palm of a hand. The company says it is the largest diamond ever found in Botswana.
In terms of carats, it’s closely rivalled by the world’s largest known diamond, the “Cullinan”, which weighed over 3,100 carats and was unearthed in South Africa in 1905.
Several large stones have recently been extracted from the Karowe mine thanks to X-ray technology. However, these discoveries coincide with the lowest diamond prices in four years. Interestingly, the Covid-19 crisis initially drove consumers towards luxury investments, but as life returns to a more conventional pace, demand has dropped.
