Declared as a “ once - in - a - lifespan find , ” the administration - owned Okavango Diamond Company ( ODC ) in Botswana unveiled an fabulously rare oval - shaped blue rhomb press 20.46 carats . It ’s the largest juicy infield discovery ever made in the body politic – and one of the rarest in the world .
TheOkavango Blue Diamondwas discovered at Orapa mine in Botswana and librate 41.11 carats of rough stone . The cut diamond is nowgradedas a Type llb “ Fancy Deep Blue ” and an Oval Brilliant Cut , one of the highest refined colouring material classification come-at-able for any blue diamond , which can only be found at a quality few mines around the Earth .
“ From the first minute we visualize the baseball diamond , it was clear we had something very limited , ” say Marcus ter Haar of Okavango Diamond Company in astatement . “ Everyone who has consider the 20 - carat urbane diamond has marvel at its unequalled coloration , which many see as unlike any blue stone they have seen before . It is unbelievably unusual for a stone of this colour and nature to have come from Botswana – a once - in - a - lifetime uncovering , which is about as rarified as a principal in the Milky Way . ”
Its extremely rarified blue color was created as long as 3 billion age ago during a time of volatile volcanic activeness that , when amalgamate with the mineral boron in the stone of ancient oceans , get its vibrant coloring material .
A diamond ismade upof carbon atoms that , without impurities , will be colourless . When defects in the diamond crystal show up – like other factor , lose carbon atom , or subatomic particle of mineral issue that do n’t belong to diamond – other color can turn up . Blue diamonds are make by trace amounts of the mineral atomic number 5 that substitute for carbon atom . These trace be as small as one - part - per - million but the more the boron , the deeper the blue
“ It is little surprisal blue rhomb are so seek after around the earthly concern as only a very small percentage of the globe ’s diamonds are classified as fancy color and , of those , only a quality few can be class as being Fancy Blue , ” allege ter Haar .
Undeniably , the world ’s most famed is the 45.52Hope Diamondhoused at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington , DC .
