Although 2018 has just started, Gem Diamonds already has the gemology world buzzing by the first quarter of the year. The cause? Its announcement of the discovery of a staggering 910-carat D colour Type IIa diamond in Lesotho’s Letšeng Mine.
Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick commented, “This is a landmark recovery for all of [our] stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the Government of Lesotho, our partner in the Letšeng Mine.”
Elphick’s pride is well justified. The rough diamond has already been heralded as the fifth-largest gem-quality diamond ever found. It is also just the latest in a string of mammoth rough gemstones found at the Letšeng Mine.
Letšeng has grown to become one of the most prolific open-pit diamond mines in the world. Since 2006, it has produced five other gem-grade diamonds weighing above 300 carats, including the 603-carat Lesotho Promise. The stone was purchased by Graff and cut into 26 D-grade flawless white diamonds, the largest of which is a 76.41-carat pear cut diamond. The resulting Lesotho Promise necklace has an estimated price tag of US$60 million.
There’s no word yet on what final form, or forms, the hitherto-unnamed rough-cut 910-carat diamond will eventually take – but we all wait with bated breath.