World's second largest gem found in botswana

Photo: Lucara Diamond

The world's second-largest gem has been discovered in Botswana.

The stone, which is 1,111 carats, was found by Lucara Diamond Corp. The diamond producers recovered the Type IIa diamond from the south lobe of its Karowe Mine.

The historic find is the largest ever gem quality diamond recovered in Botswana as well as through a modern processing facility in general, measuring 65mm x 56mm x 40mm in size.

"This historic diamond recovery puts Lucara and the Karowe mine amongst a select number of truly exceptional diamond producers," the firm's CEO William Lamb said in a statement.

"The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century and the continued recovery of high quality stones from the south lobe, cannot be overstated. Our focus on mining the south lobe, which is delivering value beyond expectation, has been perfectly timed with the commissioning of our recent plant modifications, enabling the recovery of these large, high quality exceptional diamonds."

The announcement marks the latest in a string of records set by the diamond industry, as interest in gems remains strong. Last month, Sotheby's broke auction records with the sale of a 12.03-carat blue diamond, Blue Moon, for $48.5 million.