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A huge diamond, the second largest ever found, weighing almost half a kilogram when uncut, has been discovered in Botswana at a mine of the Canadian company Lucara Diamond. To be precise, the stone weighs 2,892 carats (approximately 498.4 g).

Of all the diamonds known to historians in terms of weight, it is second only to the famous "Cullinan" (620 g), found in South Africa in 1905 and broken for cutting into nine separate stones, many of which adorn the symbols of power of British monarchs and are kept in the Tower of London.

The new diamond was found about 500 kilometres north of Botswana's capital, Gaborone. The country's authorities announced that it is the largest diamond ever discovered in this southern African state, according to BBC.

Until today, the largest diamond found in Botswana weighed 1,758 carats (352 grams) and was discovered five years ago, in 2019, at the same mine. It was sold to the French fashion house Louis Vuitton. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

A 1,109-carat diamond, found at the same mine in 2016, was purchased a year later for $63 million by London jeweler Laurence Graff, the head of Graff Diamonds.

Botswana is one of the world's largest diamond producers. Approximately one in five diamonds sold worldwide is mined in this country.

Photo: Lucara Diamond