One of the Largest Ever Diamonds Discovered in Botswana. 998 Carats. November 2020 - Monroe Yorke Diamonds
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One of the Largest Ever Diamonds Discovered in Botswana. 998 Carats. November 2020

A clear, expert guide from the Monroe Yorke Diamonds team.

By Supun Amara Updated June 2026 1 min read

Lucara Diamond Corp has unearthed a massive 998 carat high white diamond from its Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. The stone measures 67 x 49 x 45 mm. This is one of the top 5 largest diamonds ever discovered.

ONE OF THE LARGEST EVER DIAMONDS DISCOVERED IN BOTSWANA. 998 CARATS.

Lucara will work with its manufacturing partner, HB Antwerp to analyse the stone and maximise its value.

This diamond was formed as one whole and is not a broken piece. The diamond is classified as a clivage stone – meaning that it will have to be split prior to it being polished into a beautiful diamonds.

The Karowe mine is famous for producing large gem quality stones. Lucara has so far unearthed :

  • 1,109 carat diamond in 2015 which it named ‘Lesedi La Rona’ which sold for AU$73 million.
  • 813 carat ‘Constellation Diamond’ that fetched AU$87 million
  • 1,758 carat – ‘Sewelô’ Diamond, this diamond was purchased by Louis Vuitton.
  • 549 carat – 2020
  • 998 carat – 2020

The biggest gem quality diamond ever discovered is the 3,106.75 carat ‘Cullinan Diamond’, uncovered from the Cullinan mine in South Africa in 1905. It was cut and polished into several beautiful gems, the largest a 530.4 carat ‘The Great Star of Africa’. The second largest is the 317.4 carat, ‘Star of Africa’. Both these diamonds adorn the Crown Jewels of Great Britain.

Image courtesy of Lucara Diamond Corp.

Update: Just weeks after this 998-carat discovery, Lucara’s Karowe mine unearthed an even larger 1,174-carat diamond from the same mine — taking the title of third-largest diamond ever discovered from this 998-carat stone. The full story of both finds is covered in our follow-up article: World’s 3rd Largest Diamond Found in June 2021 and Within Weeks New Larger Diamond Takes Its Place.

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