(Ecofin Agency) – In August and September 2024, two diamonds weighing 2,488 carats and 1,094 carats respectively were recovered at the Botswana Karowe mine, from Canadian Lucara Diamond. For such important discoveries, the company traditionally asks the Batswana to find names for the jewels.
Lucara Diamond revealed on Tuesday, December 17, the names given to the two diamonds, 2,488 carats and 1,094 carats discovered in Botswana during the summer of 2024. The largest is called “Motswedi”, which means “source of water or flow of “underground water that emerges on the surface”, while the second is called “Seriti”, which can be translated as “aura or presence”.
Both names come from Setswana, the official local language in Botswana. Continuing a tradition of naming major discoveries from its Karowe mine, Lucara again appealed to Botswana citizens last month to enter a competition. More than 39,000 proposals were received, and were examined by a jury including Professor Thapelo Joseph Otlogetswe, eminent professor of linguistics and lexicography at the University of Botswana.
The person who suggested the name Motswedi (2,488 carats) will receive a prize of 100,000 pulas ($7,300) compared to 50,000 pulas ($3,660) for the person who suggested Seriti (1,094 carats), Lucara said. “Lucara is committed to ensuring that both stones have a positive and lasting impact for Botswana and is proud to have once again invited the people of Botswana to choose the names of two historic diamonds recovered from the mine», adds the company.
As a reminder, the Motswedi diamond was recovered last August, a few weeks before the discovery of Seriti in September. For the moment, Lucara has not revealed the method of selling these exceptional stones. In 2015, the company sold the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona also discovered in Karowe and at the time the second largest of all time, at $53 million. Another 813-carat diamond from the mine sold for $63 million.
Emiliano Tossou
Also read:
08/27/2024 – Karowe, the small African mine which delivered 6 of the 10 largest diamonds in history
