Botswana’s state-run Okavango Diamond Company on Wednesday unveiled the largest blue diamond ever discovered in the southern African country.
The company described the diamond as “in the very top bracket of all-time historical blue diamond finds.”
Managing director Marcus ter Haar said in a statement that the 20.46 carat, oval-shape precious rock has been named “The Okavango Blue” in honour of the Okavango Delta, the country’s wildlife-rich world heritage site.
“It is incredibly unusual for a stone of this colour and nature to have come from Botswana – a once-in-a-lifetime find, which is about as rare as a star in the Milky Way,” ter Haar said.
From all coloured diamonds, blue ones are the most unusual and that’s why the miner says its find is one of the rarest in the world.
“It sits in the very top bracket of all-time historical blue diamond finds, only a very small percentage of the world’s diamonds are classified as fancy colour,” ter Haar said.
He added that the company expects to sell it by the end of the year.
KO/jn/APA