The Sewelô diamond is the third-largest rough diamond ever found. The diamond was recovered in April 2019 by the Lucara Diamond Corp in its Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. The diamond is 1,758 carats and weighs 352 grams or 12.39 oz.[1]

At the time it was found, Sewelô was the largest diamond in Botswana's history, surpassing the 1,111 carats (222 g, 7.83 oz.) Lesedi La Rona extracted at the same mine on 16 November 2015. The Lesedi La Rona was the fourth-largest diamond ever found, and the third-largest of gem quality.

The gem was named through a competition held by Lucara. Out of 22,000 submissions the name Sewelô was chosen, which translates 'rare find' in Setswana.[2] In January 2020 it was announced that Louis Vuitton had purchased the diamond for an undisclosed sum.[3][4] Louis Vuitton will work with HB Antwerp to polish the diamond and cut it into smaller stones.[5][6][7]

The stone is covered with a thin layer of opaque black carbon and its surface is pitted. It is the size of a tennis ball but weighs six times more.[6][7][8] The HB Company has applied novel mapping methods using artificial intelligence in order to optimise the design and to maximize the chance of success in cutting the diamond.[9] The diamond has been described as a "near-gem of variable quality, including domains of high-quality white gem", an industrial diamond with sections that could produce gem-quality stones. Further analysis was in progress as of April 2021.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lucara finds largest uncut diamond in recent history in Botswana mine". Reuters. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Contributor, Guest (19 July 2019). "Lucara announces the naming of the 1,758 carat Sewelô Diamond". Miningreview.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (15 January 2020). "The second-biggest diamond in history has a new owner". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Second-biggest diamond ever will become Louis Vuitton Jewelry". Bloomberg.com. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "The second-biggest diamond in the world was just purchased by Louis Vuitton". The Independent. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 "HB Company: The Antwerp manufacturer tasked to cut Sewelô diamond for Louis Vuitton". The Diamond Loupe. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  7. 1 2 Hope, Alan (22 January 2020). "Antwerp company will work on world's second-largest diamond". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Diamond as big as a tennis ball makes Louis Vuitton debut in Paris". the Guardian. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  9. ↑ The Diamond Loupe (23 January 2020). "HB Company: The Antwerp Manufacturer Tasked to Cut Sewelô Diamond for Louis Vuitton". The Diamond Loupe.
  10. ↑ "Lucara Recovers Second Largest Diamond in History: 1,758 Carats, Near-Gem Quality". The Diamond Loupe. 24 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Tulsidas, Karishma (19 December 2020). "Rare gems: Louis Vuitton's plans for the Sewelô and Sethunya diamonds, acquired from the Karowe mine in Botawana". Robb Report Singapore.


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