The second largest diamond in history was found in Botswana (4 photos + 1 video)

Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. has discovered an exceptional diamond at its Karowe mine in Botswana. The 2,492-carat gem is the second-largest ever found.





Lucara said the stone was "high-quality" and intact. It was discovered using X-ray technology.

The largest diamond is the Cullinan, a 3,106.75-carat (621.35 g) diamond found in 1905 in South Africa. It is currently divided into nine pieces.



"This discovery not only demonstrates the incredible potential of our Karowe mine, but also validates our strategic investment in our advanced XRT technology. The fact that we were able to recover a large, high-quality stone without damage is testament to the effectiveness of our approach. The discovery solidifies Karowe as a world-class diamond mine," said William Lamb, Lucara President and CEO.





"Cullinan"

The largest non-gemstone diamond (3,167.5 carats) was discovered in Brazil in 1895, and is believed to have been part of a meteorite.

Botswana is the second largest diamond producer, and in recent years all of the world's largest stones have been discovered here.

For example, in 2019, the Karowa mine produced the Sewelo diamond weighing 1,758 carats. It was acquired by the French fashion house Louis Vuitton, the price is not disclosed.



Sewelo Diamond

The 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona gemstone, also found at the Karowe mine, was acquired by a British jeweler in 2017 for $53 million.