Origin of name
The name of the diamond is a combined one that seems to
reflect partly the country of origin of the diamond, Lesotho, and partly the
color of the rough diamond. The accidental discovery of this massive
601-carat diamond in 1967, eventually led to a more organized exploitation
of the Kimberlite pipe situated in the Maluti mountains of Mokhotiong, that
came to be known as the Lets'eng diamond mine.
Characteristics of the
diamond
Harry Winston who purchased the massive rough diamond in
1968, cleaved it into 18 pieces, which were polished into 18 diamonds. The
largest of this piece known as the Lesotho I, was an emerald-cut flawless
diamond, weighing 71.73 carats, and a beautiful pale pink hue. Thus the
rough diamond though characterized as a brown diamond from external
appearance, must actually have been a pinkish-brown diamond, both colors
being produced by plastic distortion of the crystal structure.
Thus the Lesotho Brown diamond is undoubtedly a
plastically distorted Type IIa diamond. It is Type II because of the absence
of nitrogen impurities. Diamonds that contain nitrogen impurities are Type
I, and constitute about 98 % of all naturally occurring diamonds. The
remaining 1-2 % are Type II.
The diamond is Type IIa, because of the absence of other
chemical impurities such as boron and hydrogen. They constitute about 1-2 %
of all naturally occurring diamonds. Diamonds that contain boron as
impurities are known as Type IIb. However they constitute only about 0.1 %
of all naturally occurring diamonds.
Thus all Type IIa diamonds are chemically pure. However
they can be of three sub-groups :- a) Structurally perfect b)
Structurally imperfect c) Naturally irradiated.
a) Structurally perfect :- These diamonds are chemically
pure and structurally perfect. They are absolutely colorless as all factors
that can cause color in diamonds are absent. They constitute about 1-2 % of
all naturally occurring diamonds.
b) Structurally imperfect :- These diamonds have a
plastically distorted crystal structure, caused by the twisting and bending
of the tetrahedral crystal units, placing areas of the crystal under severe
strain. The plastically distorted areas change the absorption spectrum of
the diamond causing rare fancy colors such as red, purple, pink and brown.
The "Lesotho Brown" diamond belongs to this category.
c) Naturally irradiated :- these diamonds are exposed to
natural radiation like alpha, beta and gamma rays and neutrons, over a long
period of time, that causes changes in the crystal structure, that imparts a
green color to the diamonds.
History
The diamond was discovered on the eroded surface of the
Kimberlite pipe of the Lets'eng diamond mine, before its actual exploitation
by De Beers began in 1977. The accidental discovery of the massive 601-carat
brown diamond was made by a woman by the name of Mrs. Ernestine Ramaboa, in
May 1967, and thus became famous as the largest diamond ever discovered by a
woman, besides being the 7th largest rough diamond ever discovered in the
world. The discovery of the diamond came as a God-given gift to the poor
couple, Petrus and Ernestine Ramaboa, who were said to be nearly penniless
except for the diamond. The poor couple walked for four days and nights,
eventually to deliver the diamond to the safe keeping of a reputable diamond
buyer.
Later the diamond was sold for $ 302,400, at an auction
held in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The purchaser of the diamond was a
South African diamond dealer, who in turn sold it to an European diamond
dealer. Harry Winston later acquired the diamond, after intense
international bidding, at an auction held in Geneva, in 1968.
After initial studies of the diamond had been completed,
it was decided that the rough stone should be cleaved into several pieces,
in order to maximize the quality of the final products. The first cleaving
of the diamond into two pieces was a much publicized media event held in
1968 and took place under the glare of TV lights, the proceedings being
broadcast live on American Television. Mr. & Mrs. Ramaboa, the founders of
the diamond, were also invited for the occasion.
The rough stone was cleaved into 18 pieces and
transformed into 18 faceted and polished diamonds, having a total weight of
242.50 carats, resulting in a loss of 358.50 carats or 60%. Such losses are
inevitable in attempting to maximize the quality of the diamonds produced,
by eliminating all inclusions. The largest diamond produced known as Lesotho
I, was a 71.73-carat, flawless, emerald-cut diamond, with a beautiful pale
pink hue. The 40-carat Lesotho III diamond also became very famous as it was
purchased by Aristotle Onassis and gifted to Jacqueline Kennedy as an
engagement gift. The Lesotho III came up for sale at a Sotheby's auction in
1996, and after a frenzied bidding between two anonymous bidders sold for $
2.59 million. The House of Harry Winston has recently regained possession of
the Lesotho I from its former owners.
The economy of Lesotho
Lesotho is an independent tiny mountain kingdom situated
almost in the center of South Africa, and entirely surrounded by it. The
country being landlocked, with a minimal of resources is entirely dependent
on South Africa economically, as well as for access to the outside world.
The country's revenue is generated by remittances of Lesotho's migrant
workers who work mainly in South Africa, receipts from the custom union
agreement, with South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana, and exports of
manufactured goods such as clothing, footwear and furniture. The revenue
generated is not sufficient to meet the staggering costs of imports, that
include basic foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport
equipment. Thus the survival of the country is heavily dependent on external
aid. Under these bleak economic circumstances, the successful exploitation
of the only God-given resource for this poor nation, the Kimberlite diamond
pipes, situated in the highlands of the country, with the help of foreign
participation, comes as good news to the people of this impoverished nation.
The history of diamond
mining in Lesotho
The Lets'eng diamond mine that was previously exploited
by De Beers from 1977-82, but later abandoned due to a slump in world
diamond prices, was again reopened in the year 2004 as a joint venture
between the Government of Lesotho and a South African based diamond mining
company, Gem Diamonds Ltd. The Government of Lesotho has a 30 % stake in the
newly formed company known as the Lets'eng Diamond Company. The remaining 70
% is owned by Gem Diamonds Ltd. Since production started in this mine in
2004, the Lets'eng diamond mine has become internationally famous as a
consistent source of large diamonds of more than 10 carats in size, and also
exceptionally large diamonds greater than 100 carats in size. In spite of
the low yield of only about 2 carats per hundred tons of Kimberlite, the
larger size of the stones produced has more than compensated for the greater
expenditure involved in operating the mine. The Lets'eng diamond mine has
achieved the highest dollar-per-carat ratio of any diamond mine in the
world. For the financial year 2006/2007, Lets'eng diamond mines produced
59,809 carats of diamonds which sold for $ 107.15 million, which works out
to an average dollar-per-carat ratio of $ 1,791. The world average ratio is
approximately $ 81 per carat.
The remarkable diamonds that have been produced in these
mines are :-
1) In January 2005, four large diamonds weighing 76
carats, 112 carats, 106 carats and 72 carats, weighing a total of 366
carats, were discovered within a period of six days, and was sold for $ 8
million.
2) The massive 603-carat Lesotho Promise discovered in
2006. This is the largest diamond ever discovered in the mine, and was sold
for $ 12.4 million.
3) A 215-carat D-color flawless diamond was discovered in
January 2007, and was sold for $ 8.3 million.
4) The 493-carat Lets'eng Legacy diamond was discovered
in September 2007, and was sold for $ 10.4 million.
The successful operation of the Lets'eng diamond mine
attracted more foreign investors to Lesotho, who concluded lucrative deals
for the exploitation of other Kimberlite pipe mines such as the Kao,
Liqhobong, Lemphane, and Kolo mines. The Lets'eng Diamond Company are also
in the process of installing another processing plant, which when completed
is expected to boost production from 50,000 to 100,000 carats per year.
All these developments in the diamond industry of Lesotho
augurs very well for the economic development of the country, which
eventually should lead to the raising of the living standards of the people
of this impoverished nation.
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