A 603-carat white diamond has been found in the tiny Southern African kingdom of Lesotho, making it the biggest rock of the century and one of the world’s largest, it was announced on Wednesday.
”The diamond, named the Lesotho Promise, is the largest reported find this century and ranks as the 15th largest diamond ever found,” said the mine’s joint owners, South Africa’s Gem Diamond Mining and the Lesotho government.
”The stone is an exceptional colour, rated D, the top colour for diamonds. The largest diamond previously found [in Lesotho] was the 601-carat Lesotho Brown recovered in 1967,” the statement said.
The Lesotho Promise goes on sale in Antwerp on Wednesday, the day the mountain kingdom marks its 40th anniversary of independence from British rule.
Lesotho’s Mining Minister Mamphono Khaketla said: ”We are proud that a Lesotho diamond has made history for a second time. The Lesotho Promise … comes at a time when the Kingdom of Lesotho is celebrating 40 years of independence.”
Some diamonds from Southern Africa are world famous, including the 3 106,75-carat Cullinan diamond, which was split in two and forms part of the British crown jewels. — Sapa-AFP