Lesedi La Rona, formerly known in media as Karowe AK6 or as Quad 1[1] by the personnel at the mine,[citation needed] is the fourth-largestdiamond ever found, and the third-largest of gem quality. It was found in the Karowe mine, (formerly called AK6) in Botswana on 16November 2015.
British jeweller Graff bought the rough diamond for $53 million in 2017. By April 2019, Graff had cut it into one large emerald cut diamond, the Graff Lesedi La Rona, weighing 302.37 carats (60.47 g; 2.13 oz) and 66 smaller stones.[2]
The Lesedi La Rona is a colourless/white,[3]type IIa diamond.[4] It weighs 1,111 carats (222.2 g; 7.84 oz) and measures 65 mm × 56 mm × 40 mm (2.6 in × 2.2 in × 1.6 in). In comparison, the Cullinan, discovered in 1905 in South Africa, weighed 3,106.75 carats (621.350 g).[5][6] The Lesedi La Rona was mined using Large Diamond Recovery ("LDR") XRT machines,[4] and is the largest diamond recovered using machines for automated diamond sorting.[3][7] It is estimated to be over 2.5 billion years old.[8]
It was found on 16November 2015,[9] in the South Lobe of the Karowe mine about 200 m (660 ft) below the surface, and the find was announced on 18November.[4][10] A day after the discovery, two more diamonds weighing 813 and 374 carats (162.6 and 74.8 g) were found in the mine.[11][12] Since the AK6 pipe was opened 18 months earlier, it has yielded over 1,000,000 carats (200 kg) of diamonds.[13]
The stone was too big for the company's scanners.[9]
Name
The diamond was first given a generic name after the mine (Karowe) and the pipe (AK6) where it was found.[13] On 18January 2016, Chief Executive Officer William Lamb of Lucara Diamond announced a competition, open to all Botswana citizens, to name the stone. In addition to naming the diamond the winner would receive P25,000 (about $2,170).[14]
On 9February 2016, Lucara Diamond announced that the stone had been named Lesedi La Rona which means "Our Light" in the Tswana language. The winner of the competition who named the diamond was Thembani Moitlhobogi from Mmadikola.[15][16][17] He stated that his reason for the name was that "the diamond is a pride, light and hope of Botswana".[17] During the competition Lucara Diamond Corporation received 11,000 emails and 1,000 SMSs with name suggestions.[18]
The diamond was found in the south lobe of Canadian company Lucara Diamond's Karowe Mine about 500 km (310 mi) north of Gaborone in Botswana.[4][12] The mine is located in the Letlhakane region, where three other diamond-producing kimberlite fields have mines named Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa, with the Debswana Diamond Company Ltd.[13] The first diamond from the mine was retrieved in 2012. Botswana, South Africa and Namibia are the world's three top producers of mined diamonds.[3]
In the months after its discovery the diamond was exhibited in a world tour in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, and Antwerp, a major centre of the world diamond trade.[19]
Value, first auction and sale
The exact value of the stone cannot be determined until it is decided how it will be cut and more details about its colour are known. Former diamond-mining geologist Phil Swinfen estimates, based on other similar sales, that the stone could be sold for $40–60 million.[3] The process of selling and cutting the diamond "will likely take years to complete".[20] In May 2016, Sotheby's in London announced that the Lesedi La Rona diamond would be offered in a stand-alone auction on 29 June 2016.[21] It was expected to sell for around $70 million. After closer examination,[22] the diamond was presented at the auction as weighing 1,109 carats.[citation needed] The highest bid for the diamond was $61 million. However, this bid fell short of the undisclosed reserve price and the stone was not sold.[23] The bidding opened at $50 million and the auction lasted for less than 15 minutes.[24]
In June 2016, Lesedi La Rona was insured for $120 million.[25] It was sold in September 2017 for $53 million to British jeweller Graff Diamonds.[26]
Cutting
On 10 April 2019, jeweller Graff presented the stones cut from Lesedi La Rona. It was divided into one large and 66 smaller diamonds. Due to the size of the rough stone, Graff had to custom-build a new scanner with new imaging software to analyze it for the cutting. The main stone, named the Graff Lesedi La Rona, is the world's largest emerald-cut diamond. It is a D-color (totally colorless), high-clarity stone weighing 302.37 carats (60.474 g; 2.1332 oz). According to Graff, the stone is the "largest highest clarity, highest color diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)". The other 66 stones cut from the original Lesedi La Rona range in size from 26 carats (5.2 g; 0.18 oz) to below one carat (0.20 g; 0.0071 oz). Each stone is inscribed with “Graff, Lesedi La Rona” and a specific GIA number.[2][27]
Technology
The diamond was recovered by a TOMRA large diamond recovery (LDR) machine utilizing X-ray transmission sensors.[7] In May 2015, the operation at the Karowe Diamond Mine replaced their Dense Media Separation (DMS) technology with six TOMRA XRT sorters for sorting material in the -60+8 mm size range. The X-ray transmission (XRT) sorting technology was selected following a suite of tests. Each sorter can sort up to 150 metric tons (330,000 lb) of material per hour, after that the concentrate goes directly to hand sorting.[28] Karowe Diamond Mine is the first mine using this automated diamond sorter.[29]
^Because of its initial pre-cleaning weight of 1,111 carats (222.2 g; 7.84 oz).
^ abDeMarco, Anthony (10 April 2019). "Graff Unveils World's Largest Square Emerald Cut Diamond At 302.37 Carats". Forbes. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
^ abcdMacDonald, Alex (19 November 2015). "World's Second-Largest Diamond Discovered in Botswana". www.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ abcd(PDF). www.lucaradiamond.com. Lucara Diamond. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^"Second largest gem quality diamond ever found recovered in Botswana". www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
^MacDonald, Alex (19 November 2015). "World's Second-Largest Diamond Discovered in Botswana". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
^ ab"TOMRA sorting mining congratulates Lucara Diamond Corp. upon the recent recovery of a magnificent 1,111 ct IIA diamond using TOMRA x-ray transmission (XRT) technology at their Karowe mine in Botswana". www.tomra.com. TOMRA. 24 November 2015.
^"Lesedi la Rona diamond set to be sold at auction for £52m". www.bbc.com. BBC News. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^ ab"Biggest diamond in 100 years adds $150 million to miner". www.cnn.com. CNN. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^"Lesedi La Rona". www.sothebys.com. Sotheby's. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^. www.lucaradiamond.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^ ab"World's second-largest diamond 'found in Botswana'". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ abcCornish, Laura (27 May 2015). "Lucara Diamonds looks for buyers for 342 carat in July exceptional stone tender". www.miningreview.com. Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^Ngwako, Portia (18 January 2016). . www.thevoicebw.com. The Voice Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
^"Lucara Names 1,111 Carat Diamond Lesedi La Rona". www.marketwired.com. Marketwired L.P. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^. www.lucaradiamond.com. Lucara Diamond. 2016-06-30. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^ abNgwako, Portia (9 February 2016). . www.thevoicebw.com. The Voice Newspaper Botswana. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
^le Cordeur, Matthew (9 February 2016). "Largest diamond found in 100 years named". fin24.com. News24. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^Lars Andersen (27 May 2016). "Largest uncut diamond in the world at Antwerp: exclusive presentation". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^Nace, Trevor (20 November 2015). "Diamond – The World's Second Largest – Was Found In Botswana". Forbes. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
^Becker, Vivienne (5 May 2016). "Lesedi La Rona: The Diamond of a Lifetime". www.sothebys.com. Sotheby's. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
^Metha, Diana (4 May 2016). "Tennis-ball sized diamond found by Canadian firm could fetch $90M". www.ctvnews.ca. CTV News. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
^"Tennis-ball sized Lesedi La Rona diamond fails to sell at London auction". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^DeMarco, Anthony (29 June 2016). "World's Largest Rough Diamond Fails to Sell At Auction". Forbes. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^"Lesedi La Rona insured for P1.3bn". www.mmegi.bw. Mmegi. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^"World's biggest uncut diamond sells for $53m". 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
^"Introducing The Graff Lesedi La Rona". Graff. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
^"TOMRA equipment key to record Lucara diamond recovery". International Mining. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
^Creamer, Martin (9 June 2015). "Pioneering Botswana diamond circuit set for design run this month". www.miningweekly.com. Mining Weekly. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
External links
Lucara Diamond website
January 09, 2023
lesedi, rona, formerly, known, media, karowe, quad, personnel, mine, citation, needed, fourth, largest, diamond, ever, found, third, largest, quality, found, karowe, mine, formerly, called, botswana, november, 2015, 2015weight1, carats, dimensions65, colourcol. Lesedi La Rona formerly known in media as Karowe AK6 or as Quad 1 1 by the personnel at the mine citation needed is the fourth largest diamond ever found and the third largest of gem quality It was found in the Karowe mine formerly called AK6 in Botswana on 16 November 2015 Lesedi La RonaThe Lesedi La Rona in 2015Weight1 111 carats 222 2 g 7 14 ozt Dimensions65 mm 56 mm 40 mm 2 6 in 2 2 in 1 6 in ColourColourless white type IIaCutRawCountry of originBotswanaMine of originKarowe MineDiscovered16 November 2015Original ownerLucara DiamondOwnerGraffBritish jeweller Graff bought the rough diamond for 53 million in 2017 By April 2019 Graff had cut it into one large emerald cut diamond the Graff Lesedi La Rona weighing 302 37 carats 60 47 g 2 13 oz and 66 smaller stones 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Name 3 History 3 1 Value first auction and sale 3 2 Cutting 4 Technology 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDescription EditThe Lesedi La Rona is a colourless white 3 type IIa diamond 4 It weighs 1 111 carats 222 2 g 7 84 oz and measures 65 mm 56 mm 40 mm 2 6 in 2 2 in 1 6 in In comparison the Cullinan discovered in 1905 in South Africa weighed 3 106 75 carats 621 350 g 5 6 The Lesedi La Rona was mined using Large Diamond Recovery LDR XRT machines 4 and is the largest diamond recovered using machines for automated diamond sorting 3 7 It is estimated to be over 2 5 billion years old 8 It was found on 16 November 2015 9 in the South Lobe of the Karowe mine about 200 m 660 ft below the surface and the find was announced on 18 November 4 10 A day after the discovery two more diamonds weighing 813 and 374 carats 162 6 and 74 8 g were found in the mine 11 12 Since the AK6 pipe was opened 18 months earlier it has yielded over 1 000 000 carats 200 kg of diamonds 13 The stone was too big for the company s scanners 9 Name EditThe diamond was first given a generic name after the mine Karowe and the pipe AK6 where it was found 13 On 18 January 2016 Chief Executive Officer William Lamb of Lucara Diamond announced a competition open to all Botswana citizens to name the stone In addition to naming the diamond the winner would receive P25 000 about 2 170 14 On 9 February 2016 Lucara Diamond announced that the stone had been named Lesedi La Rona which means Our Light in the Tswana language The winner of the competition who named the diamond was Thembani Moitlhobogi from Mmadikola 15 16 17 He stated that his reason for the name was that the diamond is a pride light and hope of Botswana 17 During the competition Lucara Diamond Corporation received 11 000 emails and 1 000 SMSs with name suggestions 18 History Edit Diamond mines and kimberlite fields in Botswana The diamond was found in the south lobe of Canadian company Lucara Diamond s Karowe Mine about 500 km 310 mi north of Gaborone in Botswana 4 12 The mine is located in the Letlhakane region where three other diamond producing kimberlite fields have mines named Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa with the Debswana Diamond Company Ltd 13 The first diamond from the mine was retrieved in 2012 Botswana South Africa and Namibia are the world s three top producers of mined diamonds 3 In the months after its discovery the diamond was exhibited in a world tour in Singapore Hong Kong New York and Antwerp a major centre of the world diamond trade 19 Value first auction and sale Edit The exact value of the stone cannot be determined until it is decided how it will be cut and more details about its colour are known Former diamond mining geologist Phil Swinfen estimates based on other similar sales that the stone could be sold for 40 60 million 3 The process of selling and cutting the diamond will likely take years to complete 20 In May 2016 Sotheby s in London announced that the Lesedi La Rona diamond would be offered in a stand alone auction on 29 June 2016 21 It was expected to sell for around 70 million After closer examination 22 the diamond was presented at the auction as weighing 1 109 carats citation needed The highest bid for the diamond was 61 million However this bid fell short of the undisclosed reserve price and the stone was not sold 23 The bidding opened at 50 million and the auction lasted for less than 15 minutes 24 In June 2016 Lesedi La Rona was insured for 120 million 25 It was sold in September 2017 for 53 million to British jeweller Graff Diamonds 26 Cutting Edit On 10 April 2019 jeweller Graff presented the stones cut from Lesedi La Rona It was divided into one large and 66 smaller diamonds Due to the size of the rough stone Graff had to custom build a new scanner with new imaging software to analyze it for the cutting The main stone named the Graff Lesedi La Rona is the world s largest emerald cut diamond It is a D color totally colorless high clarity stone weighing 302 37 carats 60 474 g 2 1332 oz According to Graff the stone is the largest highest clarity highest color diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America GIA The other 66 stones cut from the original Lesedi La Rona range in size from 26 carats 5 2 g 0 18 oz to below one carat 0 20 g 0 0071 oz Each stone is inscribed with Graff Lesedi La Rona and a specific GIA number 2 27 Technology EditThe diamond was recovered by a TOMRA large diamond recovery LDR machine utilizing X ray transmission sensors 7 In May 2015 the operation at the Karowe Diamond Mine replaced their Dense Media Separation DMS technology with six TOMRA XRT sorters for sorting material in the 60 8 mm size range The X ray transmission XRT sorting technology was selected following a suite of tests Each sorter can sort up to 150 metric tons 330 000 lb of material per hour after that the concentrate goes directly to hand sorting 28 Karowe Diamond Mine is the first mine using this automated diamond sorter 29 See also EditList of diamonds List of largest rough diamondsReferences Edit Because of its initial pre cleaning weight of 1 111 carats 222 2 g 7 84 oz a b DeMarco Anthony 10 April 2019 Graff Unveils World s Largest Square Emerald Cut Diamond At 302 37 Carats Forbes Retrieved 13 April 2019 a b c d MacDonald Alex 19 November 2015 World s Second Largest Diamond Discovered in Botswana www wsj com The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 20 November 2015 a b c d Lucara makes diamond history recovers 1 111 carat diamond PDF www lucaradiamond com Lucara Diamond Archived from the original PDF on 20 November 2015 Retrieved 20 November 2015 Second largest gem quality diamond ever found recovered in Botswana www telegraph co uk The Telegraph Retrieved 19 November 2015 MacDonald Alex 19 November 2015 World s Second Largest Diamond Discovered in Botswana The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 19 November 2015 a b TOMRA sorting mining congratulates Lucara Diamond Corp upon the recent recovery of a magnificent 1 111 ct IIA diamond using TOMRA x ray transmission XRT technology at their Karowe mine in Botswana www tomra com TOMRA 24 November 2015 Lesedi la Rona diamond set to be sold at auction for 52m www bbc com BBC News 29 June 2016 Retrieved 29 June 2016 a b Biggest diamond in 100 years adds 150 million to miner www cnn com CNN 19 November 2015 Retrieved 20 November 2015 Lesedi La Rona www sothebys com Sotheby s Retrieved 29 June 2016 Lucara Recovers Two More Large Diamonds Including an 813 Carat Stone from the Karowe Mine in Botswana www lucaradiamond com Archived from the original on 2015 11 19 Retrieved 2016 06 30 a b World s second largest diamond found in Botswana www bbc com BBC Retrieved 20 November 2015 a b c Cornish Laura 27 May 2015 Lucara Diamonds looks for buyers for 342 carat in July exceptional stone tender www miningreview com Spintelligent Pty Ltd Retrieved 20 November 2015 Ngwako Portia 18 January 2016 Batswana To Name Biggest Diamond www thevoicebw com The Voice Pty Ltd Archived from the original on 1 February 2016 Retrieved 29 January 2016 Lucara Names 1 111 Carat Diamond Lesedi La Rona www marketwired com Marketwired L P 9 February 2016 Retrieved 10 February 2016 Lucara Names 1 111 Carat Diamond Lesedi La Rona www lucaradiamond com Lucara Diamond 2016 06 30 Archived from the original on 15 May 2016 Retrieved 10 February 2016 a b Ngwako Portia 9 February 2016 Largest Diamond Named www thevoicebw com The Voice Newspaper Botswana Archived from the original on 11 February 2016 Retrieved 11 February 2016 le Cordeur Matthew 9 February 2016 Largest diamond found in 100 years named fin24 com News24 Retrieved 10 February 2016 Lars Andersen 27 May 2016 Largest uncut diamond in the world at Antwerp exclusive presentation The Brussels Times Retrieved 29 June 2016 Nace Trevor 20 November 2015 Diamond The World s Second Largest Was Found In Botswana Forbes Retrieved 23 November 2015 Becker Vivienne 5 May 2016 Lesedi La Rona The Diamond of a Lifetime www sothebys com Sotheby s Retrieved 7 May 2016 Metha Diana 4 May 2016 Tennis ball sized diamond found by Canadian firm could fetch 90M www ctvnews ca CTV News Retrieved 7 May 2016 Tennis ball sized Lesedi La Rona diamond fails to sell at London auction www cbc ca Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 29 June 2016 Retrieved 29 June 2016 DeMarco Anthony 29 June 2016 World s Largest Rough Diamond Fails to Sell At Auction Forbes Retrieved 29 June 2016 Lesedi La Rona insured for P1 3bn www mmegi bw Mmegi 29 June 2016 Retrieved 29 June 2016 World s biggest uncut diamond sells for 53m 26 September 2017 Retrieved 26 September 2017 Introducing The Graff Lesedi La Rona Graff Retrieved 13 April 2019 TOMRA equipment key to record Lucara diamond recovery International Mining 27 November 2015 Retrieved 2 March 2016 Creamer Martin 9 June 2015 Pioneering Botswana diamond circuit set for design run this month www miningweekly com Mining Weekly Retrieved 7 May 2016 External links EditLucara Diamond website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lesedi La Rona amp oldid 1105087649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
