Editor’s Note
The future of the world’s second-largest diamond, discovered in Botswana, remains uncertain. As reported, the Belgian firm now in possession of the exceptional stone suggests it could ultimately find a home in a museum or a private collection.
One year after its discovery in Botswana in Southern Africa, the world’s second largest diamond, now in the hands of a firm in Antwerp, Belgium, could end up in a museum, the company explained on Monday, September 22.
Margaux Donckier, the company’s communications director, stated this while presenting the precious stone to AFP. She added that while the company refuses to detail these expressions of interest, HB Antwerp assures it has received many, “from all over the world.”
The Motswedi, the world’s second largest diamond at 2,488 carats and weighing half a kilogram, was extracted in the summer of 2024 from the Karowe mine in northeastern Botswana, Africa’s leading diamond producer.
This mine is owned by the Canadian mining company Lucara, which has partnered with HB Antwerp to have the Belgian firm handle the transformation and marketing of any stone exceeding 10.8 carats. For a year, the Belgian company has boasted of having acquired at least three raw diamonds exceeding 1,000 carats, presented as proof that Antwerp remains a premier location for diamond cutting and polishing despite international competition.
To estimate the value of the Motswedi, it still needs to be analyzed by scanner, a technique allowing for a preliminary assessment of the impurities it contains, explained Ms. Donckier.
she said. Its name means “source of water or underground water flow” in the Tswana language. Before its discovery in August 2024, the largest diamond unearthed in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone also extracted by Lucara in 2019, and named Sewelo, which means “rare discovery” in Tswana.
As large as a tennis ball, it was purchased by the Louis Vuitton house, a flagship brand of the luxury giant LVMH, for an undisclosed price. The record for the largest diamond ever discovered is still held by the Cullinan, which was extracted in 1905 from a mine in South Africa, estimated at 3,106 carats.
