Diamonds & Engagement Rings News

A 478-carat diamond was sold for $18.4 million to a unit of the UK-based Graff Diamonds on Tuesday by the government of the southern African Kingdom of Lesotho.

The diamond, which is the 20th largest rough diamond ever discovered, was the named the Light of Letseng, said Gem Diamonds.

The company stated that the diamond was sold in Antwerp for $38,400 per carat, which was beyond the global average diamond price of $90 per carat.

The diamond was originally discovered from a mine in Lesotho controlled by Letseng Diamonds, a 30-70 affiliation between the government of Lesotho and Gem Diamonds.

The Letseng mine is known for producing four of the world’s 20 largest rough diamonds. Of these four diamonds, three have been bought by Graff Diamonds.

Laurence Graff, Chairman of Graff Diamonds, holds an 8.2 percent stake in Gem Diamonds.

The shares of Gem Diamonds were up 0.8 percent at 252 pence at 0808 GMT on Tuesday.

In the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, miners from Gem Diamonds mining group have found one of the largest diamonds in the world. The white gem is nearly flawless with a weight of nearly five-hundred carats.

After being discovered in the Letseng Mine on September eight, the gem was taken for examination by experts in Antwerp who stated that the weight was 478 carats with hardly any inclusions and of excellent color and clarity.

The company said, “It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history.”

Letseng is knwon to be one of the most productive mines in history, producing four of the world’s twenty most massive rough diamonds in history, including the three largest found this century.

It is difficult to value the diamond before it is cut into gems, although a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-wuality color and clarity had lately been sold for $12 million.

Clifford Elphick, chief executive of  Gem Diamonds stated, “Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity.”

Gem diamonds owns 70% of Letseng. The government of Lesotho owns the other thirty percent.

The Cullinan, which was discovered in South Africa i 1905, is still the world’s largest diamond since. The diamond weighed over 1,300 carats before being cut up into over one hundred separate gems. Most of those gems are a part of the British crown jewels.

Black diamonds are known to be very hard to grade and process due to its color. Therefore, black diamonds require high grade of industrial art, which makes people want it more than other diamonds.

Black diamonds, along with green, yellow and red are considered fancy diamonds. What makes colorful diamonds is usually solar radiation. However, black diamonds receive their color through a large amount of small embeddings.

Black diamonds were known to mankind several hundred years before they actually became popular in the nineteen nineties. Since black diamonds are becoming even more famous, the jewelry manufacturing industry is producing the diamonds using radiation.

One of the most famous black diamonds known to history is called ‘Black Orlov’, which was once owned by the Russian princess Nadia Vygin-Orlov.   

The 67-carat cushion cut diamond has been covered in mystery throughout its history ever since. Rumors were spread about the ‘Black Orlov’ being stolen in India and then belonged to the Russian princess. Then there are those others who believe of a curse on the diamond, which had no proof of it.¼/p>

    Diamonds are first recognized and mined in India.Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3000 years but most likely 6000 years. The most familiar usage of diamonds today is as gemstones used for adornment a usage, which dates back into antiquity. In the twentieth century, experts in the of field of gemology have developed methods of grading diamonds and other gemstones based on the characteristics most important to their value as a gem. Four characteristics, know informally as the four C’s are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds, which are carat, cut, color and clarity.

      The diamond industry can be separately into two basic distinct categories, one dealing with gem-grade diamonds and another for industrial-grade diamonds, while a large trade in both types of diamonds exist, the two markets act in dramatically different ways.          

      Precious metals such as gold or platinum, gem diamonds do not trade as a commodity. Ninety-two percent of diamond pieces cut in 2003 were in Surat Gujarat, India. 

          The production and disruption of diamonds is largely consolidated in the hands of a few key players, and concentrated traditional diamond trading centers. The most important being Antwerp, where 80% of all rough diamonds, 50% of all cut diamonds and more than 50% of all rough, cut and industrial diamonds combined are handled.

            The De Beers diamond advertising campaign Is acknowledged as one of the most successful and innovative campaigns in history. N.W. Ayer & son, the advertising firm retained by De Beers in the mid-20^th century, succeeded in reviving in the American diamond market and opened up new markets, even in countries where no diamond tradition had existed before. This coordinated campaign has lasted decades and continues today; it is perhaps best captures by the slogan “a diamond is forever”

Diamond and meteorite impact craters

     Microdiamonds are very small diamonds, they have been found in meteorite impact craters. Such impact events create shock zones of high pressure and temperature suitable for diamond formation. Microdiamonds can be used as one indicator of ancient impact craters. 

Extraterrestrial diamonds          

     Not exactly all diamonds found on earth originated here. About 3 billion years ago a type of carbonado diamonds that is found in South America and Africa was deposited their via an asteroid impact.(not formed from the impact) 

Surfacing 

Diamond-bearing rock is brought close to the surface through deep-origin volcanic eruptions. The magma for such a volcano must originate at a depth where diamonds can be formed. The pipes are open during surface eruption. Not all pipes contain diamonds, and even fewer contain enough diamonds to make mining economically viable.                

     Certain indicator minerals typically occur within diamondiferous kimberlites and are used as mineralogic tracers by prospectors, who follow the indicator trail back to the volcanic pipe, which may contain diamonds.               

      Once diamonds have been transported to the surface by magma in a volcanic pipe, they may erode out and be distributed over a larger area. A volcanic pipe containing diamonds is known as a primary source of diamonds. Secondary sources of diamonds include all areas where a significant number of diamonds, eroded out of their kimberlite or lamproite matrix, accumulate because of water or wind action. These include alluvial deposits and deposits along existing and ancient shorelines, where loose diamonds tend to accumulate because of their approximate size and density. Diamonds have rarely been found in deposits left behind by glaciers. 

I came across this video clip all about the history of diamonds, it is pretty funny. Enjoy it.

http://www.jcoc.tv/view_video.php?id=153

Moshe