478 Carat Diamond Discovered in Lesotho

On September 8, 2008, an 478 carat diamond was discovered in South Africa.

The Letseng mine, 70% of which is owned by Gem Diamonds, and 30% of which is owned by the government of Lesotho, is known as one of the most productive mines in history. The white diamond was sent to Antwerp to be analyzed, and was later announced to be a II D colored diamond, which happens to be the highest ranking possible for a white diamond.

"It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D colored round polished diamonds in history", Gem Diamonds reported.

While a diamond's value is hard to pin point before it's cut, other diamonds with a similar weight have sold for around $12 million, though they were lesser in clarity and color quality.

This gem is the 20th largest rough gem to ever be discovered. The largest- also discovered in South Africa- is the Cullinan, which was discovered in 1905. The 3,100 carat stone was cut into hundreds of smaller gems, most of which are a part of the crown jewels.

The Letseng mine is one of the most productive mines in history. it has been the site of discovery of four of the top twenty largest diamonds, which includes the three largest found this century. It was also praised by the Minister for Natural Resources on it's productivity. Lethoso is also one of the highest mines in the world at around 10,000 feet.