It’s incredible. Imagine. The 187.7 carat Foxfire diamond was almost crushed into smithereens due to the way diamonds are “sorted” at the Diavik Diamond Mine. The Canadian diamond mine is owned and operated by the Rio Tinto mining group.
If diamonds are the tears of angels, then this one is protected by the divine.
Two million metric tons of ore are processed at the Diavik Diamond Mine annually. Last year the mine produced 6.4 million carats of rough diamonds. A diamond is recovered about every 30 seconds!
The Foxfire diamond is larger than what is expected to be found at the Diavik Diamond Mine. Thus the sorting and filtering system is preset to crush rocks larger than one inch. I’ll pause to let that concept sink in for a minute.
Extremely Rare Diavik Diamond Recovered:
Foxfire Diavik Diamond.
The fact that the Foxfire Diamond was not pulverized by the automated processing system is a total fluke. Apparently the 187.7 carat piece of diamond rough managed to turn just right and fall sideways through the filter at just the right moment.
Whether you want to think of this as fate, divine intervention, or just plain old dumb luck, it truly is a miracle. And a pretty incredible financial windfall for Rio Tinto, because there is a huge market for rare diamonds like this.
The 813-carat “Constellation Diamond” recovered in Botswana by Lucara Diamond Corp. was purchased by a trading company in Dubai for $63 million.
The obvious question is…
“Will Rio Tinto adjust their equipment to SAVE larger finds like the Foxfire Diamond?”
According to Bloomberg, it’s not likely:
Yuri Kinakin, superintendent of process technology, said he does think about another giant being crushed—”I get paid to be worried”—but views it as “a statistical question.” One anomaly isn’t enough to rejigger the whole place.
Catch a Glimpse of The Foxfire Diavik Diamond:
The Foxfire diamond was recently on display at New York’s Langham Place Hotel. Prior to that it was available for inspection by prospective buyers at the Kensington Palace in London.
The Foxfire Diavik Diamond will soon be exhibited in Antwerp and Tel Aviv. I wonder which one of my customers is going to purchase it? Hey, I can dream can’t I?
The Foxfire Diamond is reported to “Look like a pretty piece of glass with a slight yellow tinge” which Rio Tinto’s expert evaluators believe can be polished away. I’m pretty sure that I’m good with it either way… Stuff that piece of coal in my Christmas Stocking and I’ll be a very good boy all next year!
Imagine the Rush of Cutting the Foxfire Diamond!
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
— Michaelangelo
One master diamond cutter come to mind right away!
Brian Gavin is one of my favorite diamond cutters in all the world! His team used to cut hearts and arrows diamonds for the Nice Ice private label. Needless to say, I think a lot of their production quality… It’s the absolute best!
I recommend them highly. I don’t think that it’s possible to buy a more spectacular diamond, anywhere at any price! This is probably why most of my clients buy their engagement rings from Brian Gavin Diamonds.
I can’t even fathom the possibility of letting anybody else cut a diamond as rare as this. Imagine how incredible “The Foxfire Diamond” would be if it were cut to the precision of a hearts and arrows diamond?
Surely that Fox would then have some real fire! It would also exhibit an exceptional amount of brilliance… the highest volume of light return possible… and the type of broad-spectrum sparkle that most people only dream about.
I’m talking Absolute Spectral Bliss!
There’s a reason why BGD custom cut large diamonds
for my clients all the time… I’d refer you nowhere else.
So I’m curious… What do you think about this turn of events? Leave a comment below. This should make for an interesting discussion. Imagine how tragic it would have been if the 187.7 carat Foxfire Diamond had actually been crushed. What a tragic loss that would be. And be sure to watch the cool video and read the full story at Bloomberg News.
Photographs courtesy of Bloomberg News.
