Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - A huge 1,174-carat diamond has been recovered in Botswana - just days after the announcement of a 1,098-carat stone.

The newly-discovered stone (pictured), from Lucara's Karowe mine, is a clivage gem, which will need to be split before being processed further.

It weighs 1,174.76 carat, but could well have been part of an even bigger rough stone - of more than 2,000 carats.

"On the same production day, several other diamonds of similar appearance (471 carat, 218 carat, 159 carat) were recovered at the main XRT circuit, indicating the 1,174 diamond was part of a larger diamond with an estimated weight of > 2000 carats," said the company in a statement.

It's described as a clivage gem measuring 77x55x33mm, of variable quality with significant domains of high-quality white gem material.

Only last week Debswana announced the recovery of 1,098-carat diamond - believed to be third largest in the world - at its Jwaneng mine, also in Botswana.

The world's biggest diamond is the 3,106-carat Cullinan found in South Africa in 1905 and used in the British Crown Jewels, followed by the 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond, also from Karowe, which was recovered in April 2019.

Another +1,000-ct stone, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, was also recovered from Karowe.

Eira Thomas, CEO, said Lucara was delighted to be reporting another historic diamond recovery.

He said: "Although complex, these diamond recoveries do contain large domains of top colour white gem that will be transformed through our partnership with HB Antwerp into valuable collections of top colour polished diamonds, very much in high demand in the market today."...

We continue to advocate holding roughly 40% exposures to hard currency (Gold, silver, platinum, and short US dollar) and uncorrelated assets. Of course, the Fed could have it just right, but we will follow another famous hashtag: #TrustButVerify.

Last week, the Federal Reserve announced it will maintain an interest rate target of zero to 0.25 percent for the rest of 2021. The Fed said it will also continue its monthly purchase of 120 billion dollars of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities.

(IDEX Online) - Sotheby's Hong Kong could make cryptocurrency history when it auctions a 101.38-carat diamond next month.

Buyers will have the option of paying in Bitcoin or Ethereum.

That means the stone could set a record as the highest-priced diamond - or indeed any physical object - ever to be sold in a crypto-transaction.

The high estimate is $15m - equivalent to BTC515 or ETH8787 at today's exchange rates.

"This is a truly symbolic moment," said Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby's Asia, in a statement.

"The most ancient and emblematic denominator of value can now, for the first time, be purchased using humanity´s newest universal currency."

The pear-shaped D-color, flawless, Type IIa diamond, named The Key 10138, is one of fewer than 10 weighing over 100-cts ever offered at auction, said Sotheby's.

It will be sold in a single-lot auction on 9 July. Payment can also be made in traditional money.

Pic courtesy Sotheby's...