The Letseng Star
On the 31st of August, Gem Diamonds Ltd announced the discovery of a massive, 553-carat top-color diamond, believed to be the 19th largest rough diamond and the 14th largest white diamond ever to be discovered in the world. After boiling the weight has been corrected to 550 carats, and the diamond that has been named the 'Letseng Star' is currently undergoing analysis in Antwerp. Top-color or D-color diamonds are absolutely colorless, chemically pure and structurally perfect diamonds.
The large rough was found in the Letseng mine in Lesotho, which is the world’s highest diamond mine. Most of the diamonds produced in the Letseng mine are Type IIa, D-color, which is the highest quality among diamonds. This mine has so far produced four of the largest rough diamonds ever discovered.