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2,488-Carat Diamond, Largest Found in Botswana, Has a New Owner
Lucara Diamond Corp., which recovered the “Motswedi” diamond from the Karowe mine, sold the stone for an undisclosed amount.
The 2,488-carat “Motswedi” diamond pictured next to a loupe, tweezers, and a golf ball for scale. Lucara Diamond Corp. recovered the diamond from the Karowe mine in Botswana in August 2024 and sold it during the second quarter of 2026. (Photo courtesy of Lucara Diamond Corp.)
Gaborone, Botswana—The 2,000-carat-plus diamond recovered from a mine in Botswana two years ago now has a permanent home.
Lucara Diamond Corp. reported Friday that it sold the 2,488-carat “Motswedi” diamond sometime during the second quarter ended June 30.
Neither the identity of the buyer nor the purchase price has been disclosed.
Lucara unearthed the diamond from its Karowe mine in August 2024. It originally was reported as weighing 2,492 carats but lost a small amount of weight when it was cleaned, a common occurrence with diamonds of this size.
It is believed to be the largest diamond ever found in Botswana, and the second largest gem-quality rough diamond in recorded history. Only the 3,106-carat Cullinan, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905, is bigger.
In the fall of 2024, Lucara held a naming contest for the stone, and the winning moniker was “Motswedi,” a Setswana term that refers to a current of underground water that rises to the surface.
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Lucara Diamond Corp. reported Friday that it sold the 2,488-carat “Motswedi” diamond sometime during the second quarter ended June 30.
Neither the identity of the buyer nor the purchase price has been disclosed.
Lucara unearthed the diamond from its Karowe mine in August 2024. It originally was reported as weighing 2,492 carats but lost a small amount of weight when it was cleaned, a common occurrence with diamonds of this size.
It is believed to be the largest diamond ever found in Botswana, and the second largest gem-quality rough diamond in recorded history. Only the 3,106-carat Cullinan, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905, is bigger.
In the fall of 2024, Lucara held a naming contest for the stone, and the winning moniker was “Motswedi,” a Setswana term that refers to a current of underground water that rises to the surface.
Despite the sale of such a large diamond, Lucara saw second-quarter revenue decline 6 percent year-over-year to $41 million from $43.7 million in Q2 2025.
The company said it sold fewer carats through tender and the per-carat price of rough diamonds weighing less than 10.8 carats was lower.
It also noted that Q2 2025 included the sale of the 1,094-carat “Seriti” diamond, which it recovered from Karowe in September 2024, just a few weeks after the discovery of the “Motswedi.”
In the news release announcing its second-quarter results, Lucara echoed what other miners have said about the current state of the rough diamond market: prices and demand for larger, higher-quality diamonds are resilient, while smaller, lower-quality goods continue to struggle.
The natural diamond market is “showing signs of a K-shaped recovery,” it said, mirroring the broader economy.
“Encouragingly, positive price movement is becoming evident across rough and polished markets, suggesting that conditions are beginning to stabilize after a prolonged downturn,” Lucara said.
“Macroeconomic uncertainty and lab-grown substitution remain headwinds, particularly in price-sensitive categories; however, tightening natural diamond supply, improving sentiment and emerging price momentum provide an increasingly positive outlook for the remainder of 2026.”
Lucara also provided an update on the status of the Karowe underground expansion project.
The project is designed to give Lucara access to the highest-value area of the Karowe orebody and extend its life until 2038.
Currently, the mine’s open pit is expected to run dry by the end of this year, though Lucara noted it will continue processing run-of-mine stockpiles following the pit’s depletion.
Full-scale underground production at Karowe is slated to start in the first half of 2028, and the total cost of the project is estimated at $779.2 million, including contingency.
The company said as of June 30, remaining costs to complete the project stood at $275.9 million, while committed but not yet incurred costs totaled $99.8 million.
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