The natural wonderment and rarity associated with diamonds was on full display last week as the entire world stopped to applaud the discovery of a mammoth 2,492 carat stone found in the sands of the Boteti sub-district.
Uncovered by the efforts of Lucara Diamond Corp, the as yet unnamed stone is estimated to be the second largest ever discovered in the world after the famous 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905 in South Africa.
At a time when the slump in retail demand and sales that began in the second half of last year has become protracted, and as critics ratchet up their claims that lab grown diamonds have permanently taken a bite out of naturals, the recent discovery is as timely as it is miraculous.
But Botswana is a country unusually familiar with the miraculous.
The fact that the country’s diamond story began with the fortuitous discovery of three of these small shiny stones in Motloutse River in 1959 is a miracle in itself. That these stones turned up after being carried from the Earth’s core over thousands of kilometres and millions of years by geological processes, is an even bigger miracle.
More mind-blowing is that out of that multi-million year journey, had the stones been discovered even a 1,000 years earlier, the diamonds would have either gone unspotted, disregarded or unappreciated. Instead, they made their appearance right on time, in an era where value could be assigned to them.
The same can be said about the giant rock uncovered recently by Lucara at the Karowe Diamond Mine.
It too is arriving right on time.
The stone has arrived when the natural diamond industry is engaged in an existential fight with lab grown producers who have flooded the market with their cheaper synthetics, while claiming their creations are more ethically sourced.
For a market where Gen Z’s are increasingly important buyers, natural diamonds have taken a beating on the shelves, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the continued flow of Moscow’s sanctioned stones into the global market, sully the overall ethical reputation of natural diamonds.
Economic uncertainties in key markets such as the United States and in particular China, have added to diamonds’ woes and created the worst slump in demand seen since at least 2019.
However, the fact that the entire world stood up and cheered last week as images of President Mokgweetsi Masisi holding the giant diamond circulated, are testament to the enduring global fascination with diamonds and the place these stones and their rarity will always hold in the world’s heart.
“While the future of this stone is uncertain, one thing is clear: its discovery has indelibly reshaped the narrative of diamond history,” Grant Mobley, a writer for the Natural Diamond Council wrote last week.
From the Washington Post to the South China Morning Post, images of the huge stone reverberated around the world and the video clips featuring Masisi and Lucara Botswana MD, Naseem Lahri, went viral on social media
As the story took on a life of itself, the excitement clearly showed the gulf between the real and the lab grown.
Masisi, who this year took on a role to champion natural diamonds around the world leveraging on Botswana’s global standing as the emblem of “diamonds for development,” used the opportunity to punt for the real over the man-made.
“This also goes to show Botswana and the world how important mining and good governance are to Botswana,” he said in off-the-cuff remarks at the diamond’s unveiling last week.
“They mean everything to us, in the good times and the bad times.
“Diamond prices are going through a tough time right now, but every single diamond is valuable to us.
“So we want it looked after to optimise and get the best price for it.”
Masisi added: “But you (Lucara) are setting yourself apart from other mines.
“You are just making our country get so much more known for virtuous things like this.
“That’s a trajectory that we want to move forward.”
The brand value for Botswana and the goodwill generated towards natural diamonds, from the stone are immeasurable. The billions of eyes who set their stunned eyes on the stone at its unveiling will always remember how amazed and inspired they felt looking at a geological miracle born in a country that governs the stones best.
Lucara has previously discovered some of the world’s biggest diamonds, but the latest find, coming in the middle of a slump, will be remembered as symbolic of Botswana standing up for natural diamonds in the midst of a war with the lab growns.
