The diamond. It's giant! (Photo: Lucara Diamond)
In a mine in Botswana, the Lucara Diamond Corporation has come up with the largest diamond discovered in the past century and the second largest ever found.
The newly discovered diamond is 1,111 carats and measures 2.6 by 2.2 by 1.6 inches. Previously, the largest discovery this century was a comparatively paltry 603 carats. That diamond was eventually cut into 26 diamonds that were collected into one necklace, Bloomberg explains.
Though certainly impressive, the diamond unearthed at by Lucara is not the largest one ever found. That honor goes to the Cullinan diamond, which was discovered in 1905. That gem was 3,106 carats and got cut into nine major stones and 96 smaller ones, according to Bloomberg. The two largest stones are now part of the British Crown Jewels.
All of these giant diamonds were discovered in Southern Africa; four of the world's 10 largest diamond mines are in that region. (Most of the others are in Russia, with one in Australia.) Oh, and the same diamond company, Lucara, also found another smaller diamond recently. But that one's only a (whopping) 813 carats.
Bonus finds: Cave lion cubs
Every day, we highlight one newly lost or found object, curiosity or wonder. Discover something unusual or amazing? Tell us about it! Send your finds to sarah.laskow@atlasobscura.com.