Canada has yielded the largest diamond ever discovered in North America -- a 552-carat gemstone unearthed close to the frigid wastes of the Arctic Circle.
Dominion Diamond Mines, a Canadian diamond mining company based in Calgary, said the yellow diamond was unearthed in October at its Diavik Diamond Mine located in Northern Canada some 135 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
This still unnamed diamond, which is about the size of a chicken egg, is the seventh-biggest this century. Dominion called the gemstone "astonishing."
A preliminary screening at Dominion's recovery plant yielded the 552-carat gem. The diamond measures about 1.5 inches in diameter and is more than 2 inches in height.
Dominion CEO Shane Durgin said the diamond is gem quality, which means the gemstone is suitable for jewelry. Since it's still being evaluated, this diamond's ultimate worth hasn't been determined. It will not be sold in its rough form and will be polished to ramp-up its value.
This incredible discovery highlights what is truly spectacular about Canadamark diamonds, said Kyle Washington, Chairman of Dominion. He noted that the color and texture of the diamond are a unique example of the journey that natural diamonds take from their formation until they're unearthed.
He said the company's Diavik Mine "has produced some of the most beautiful diamonds in the world, and this one certainly tops the list."
The 552-carat gem is almost three times the size of the Diavik Foxfire, which is the next largest stone ever found in Canada. Diavik Foxfire is a 187.7-carat gem-quality diamond unearthed in the same mine by the Rio Tinto Group. It's about one-third the weight of this new diamond.
Diavik Foxfire yielded a post-polishing 47.87 brilliant-cut pear shape and 36.80 brilliant-cut pear shape. Both these earrings were recently sold at a Christie's auction for $1.3 million.
Yellow stones typically sell at a discount to Type IIa top whites often found in the best African mines. The highest quality fancy vivid yellow or fancy intense yellow stones can sell for a premium.
In 2015, a 1,111-carat diamond was discovered at a mine in Botswana. The size of a human palm, it came second to only the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond, which was found in 1905 in South Africa.
