History was made over the weekend when a monster diamond unearthed at the Letseng Mine in Africa was unveiled to the world.

The diamond weighs in at 478 carats and is expected to become the largest, most perfect round diamond in the world after cutting.  "Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," said company chief executive Clifford Elphick of Gem Diamonds.

The diamond, which was discovered on September 8 in Lesotho and is as yet unnamed, has the potential to yield a 150 carat cut stone, and could sell for tens of millions of dollars, the company said.
 
The mine, which was owned by De Beers for many years, has already produced three of the world's biggest diamonds. These are the 603-carat Lesotho Promise, 493-carat Letseng Legacy and the 601-carat Lesotho Brown.

Experts in Antwerp, Belgium, who analyzed the 478-carat stone determined it to be of the highest color grading available for a white diamond, said a statement from Gem Diamonds Ltd., the company that found the stone.

"What makes it more remarkable is the color and quality of this stone," said diamond consultant Neil Buxton, further stating that it is a D color, which is highest possible graded color which could produce over 100 carats.

It would be bigger than the 105 carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is part of the British Crown Jewels.

It would still be dwarfed by the Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, which was 3,106 carats uncut and yielded a teardrop shaped diamond of 530 carats called the Great Star of Africa.

The Letseng mine is owned by a mining company of which Gem Diamonds controls 70% and the Lesotho government controls 30%.



The 478 carat rough from the
Letseng Mine in Africa