Debswana Diamond, a unit of De Beers Plc, unearthed a 1,098 carat stone in Botswana earlier in the month of June, the largest since the company began digging for precious stones for more than 50 years.
Preliminary analysis suggests the stone is the world’s third-largest gem-quality diamond ever after the Cullinan Diamond that was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and the Lesedi la Rona that was found in Botswana in 2015, according to Debswana acting Managing Director Lynette Armstrong.
Valuation by the Diamond Trading Botswana is due in a few weeks and at this point, Debswana can’t say whether the rock will be sold by De Beers or through the Okavango Diamond, a state-owned trader that also holds the right to buy Debswana stones, Armstrong said.
In 2017, lesedi la rona diamond was sold for a whopping $53m, that is, $47,777 per carat. By today’s valuations, this can be as huge as that of 2017. In economic terms, diamonds are paradox of value. They are not as important as the air we breathe, which is free and essential, but they come at a cost, very expensive.
