Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country singer Sam Outlaw plays the part of a callous lover in his 2017 release, “Diamond Ring.”



Outlaw’s “slow, sad waltz” tells the story of a couple with conflicting opinions about the status of their relationship. They've gone to a dance bar, where Outlaw has consumed more than his fair share of whiskey. Despite his drunken state, his girlfriend presses him for a marriage commitment.

He responds, “You want my heart to surrender / I see no courage ending life here / I see no reason at all / I see no diamond ring on your finger / I see no diamond ring on you at all.”

“‘Diamond Ring’ is about being a self-centered twenty-something,” Outlaw told Rolling Stone magazine. “I’m no longer in my twenties, but the rest of that still applies to me pretty accurately.”

In April of 2023, Outlaw exposed his sensitive side with an Instagram post directed at his wife of nine years, Andie Morgan.

"The wedding was fun, but the marriage is what I’m proud of," wrote Outlaw. "We’ve grown so much together and it’s my greatest privilege to raise a family with my true love. I feel like I have it all, so here’s to another day of trying to not mess it up. Thanks for loving me, Andie."

The 42-year-old has been performing “Diamond Ring” on tour since 2012, but the song made its “official” debut in 2017 as the eighth track of Outlaw’s second album, Tenderheart. “Diamond Ring” got another boost when a live version of the song recorded at the 2017 Americana Music Festival in Nashville was cherry-picked in 2018 for Amazon’s “Love Me Not” playlist.

Born in Aberdeen, SD, in 1982, Sam Morgan moved with his family to Southern California when he was 10. He borrowed his mom’s maiden name, Outlaw, when he abruptly gave up a career in advertising to pursue his dreams of being a singer-songwriter. At the age of 30, he hit the road as a touring musician.

Outlaw describes his music as “SoCal country,” defined as country music refashioned with a Southern California vibe and a melding of classic honky-tonk and troubadour pop.

He told Rolling Stone that he’s noticed that Los Angeles’s appetite for Southern culture has only been growing.

“It’s nice that now I can wear my Stetson to a restaurant,” he told the magazine, “and not have people think I’m insane.”

In May of 2019, the artist made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

Please check out the video of Sam Outlaw’s live performance of “Diamond Ring” at WFUV's Studio A on the campus of NYC's Fordham University in April of 2017. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Diamond Ring”
Written and performed by Sam Outlaw.

You took me dancing, you got me drunk
You kissed me, oh I remember
I was a man needing a woman’s touch
And that’s all that I claim to be

And now you got questions, now come the tears
You want my heart to surrender
I see no courage ending life here
I see no reason at all

I see no diamond ring on your finger
I see no diamond ring on you at all

You look so pretty, you look like hell
You kissed me, oh I remember
Couple with whiskey, from a bottomless well
I must have been quite a show

Now you want answers, now comes the fear
You want me only forever
I see no wisdom in drawing death near
I see no reason at all

I see no diamond ring on your finger
I see no diamond ring on you at all
I see no diamond ring on your finger
I see no diamond ring on you at all

So can you forgive me for not putting trust
On someone who thinks I’m so special?
I’m just a man needing a woman’s touch
And someday you’ll see me again



Credit: Screen capture via YouTube / WFUV Public Radio.

Four intricately crafted silver bracelets hidden under the floorboards of a Viking slave dwelling for 1,100 years were recently unearthed by archaeologists from Norway's University of Stavanger’s Archaeological Museum.



The current owner of the property, Tårn Sigve Schmidt, had called in the archaeologists to survey his land ahead of his plan to carve out a new tractor road on his mountainside farm overlooking a fjord near Årdal, northwest of Oslo.

Field archaeologists Mari Krogstad Samuelsen and Ola Tengesdal Lygre found the heavy, twisted-motif bracelets under the floorboards of what was once a tiny shelter. They were buried under 8 inches of soil.

"At first I thought it was a question of some twisted copper wires that you can often find in agricultural land," said Lyger, "but when I saw that there were several lying next to each other and that they were not copper at all, but silver, I realized that we had found something exciting."

An analysis of the site revealed that there was once a large and powerful Viking farm consisting of several houses for both people and animals. Apparently, the location had strategic military value because from the vantage point of the farm, the Vikings could control the sea routes into what is today's Årdal.

In addition to the bracelets, the archaeologists found remains of soapstone pots, rivets, knife blades and whetstones for sharpening tools.

The archaeologists called the discovery "unique" because they very rarely find such objects exactly where they were placed. More often, they are discovered in fields that have been plowed, where an object has been completely taken out of its original context.

"Since the silver hoard has not been moved, it can give us completely new insights into life and society in the Viking Age," said archaeologist and project manager Volker Demuth.

The excavation also revealed that the farm had been burned down during a time that coincided with a period of great unrest in the Viking Age (The Viking Age in Norway spanned from 800 AD to 1066 AD).

"If people who lived on this farm had to flee from an attack, it would be natural to hide away the valuables you had before escaping to the mountains," said Demuth.

The archaeologists transported a block of earth containing the undisturbed bangles to the University of Stavanger’s Archaeological Museum, where conservators took X-rays. They are also in the process of analyzing soil samples from the block to tell, among other things, whether the bracelets were wrapped in a cloth when they were buried.

Interestingly, there were no silver mines operating in Norway during the 9th century, so all the silver the Vikings used came from abroad, either through trade, as gifts, or as part of the loot from raiding expeditions.

The silver bracelets will soon find their way to an exhibit at the archaeological museum once analysis and conservation work is complete.

Credit: Photo by Volker Demuth, Archaeological Museum, University of Stavanger.

You can say that Lucara is riding a mega-diamond hot streak. Less than a month after the mining company announced the recovery of an incredible 2,492-carat rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in Botswana, it is back in the news with the discovery of a high-quality 1,094-carat rough.



August's head turner ranked as the second-largest diamond ever found, and this most recent recovery ranks as #7. Of the 10 largest diamonds ever mined, seven of them were sourced in Botswana, and six of the seven came from the Karowe Mine. (Botswana's Jwaneng Mine secured the sixth-ranked 1,098-carat gem in 2021).

Holding onto the #1 spot is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, which was found at South Africa’s Premier Mine 2 in 1905.



Lucara noted that the 1,094-carat rough was discovered in Karowe’s south lobe, which has historically produced large, high-value diamonds. The stone bears striking similarities to the 692-carat diamond the company unearthed in August 2023. That stone, which ranks #23, was polished by HB Antwerp and yielded diamonds that sold for more than $13 million.

The mining company confirmed that this newly recovered stone also will be polished by HB Antwerp as part of the ongoing partnership between the two companies.

As with the 2,492-carat rough diamond, this newest find benefitted from Lucara's state-of-the-art Mega Diamond Recovery (“MDR”) X-ray Transmission (“XRT”) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds.

"The recovery of this exceptional 1,094-carat diamond is a testament to Karowe's remarkable potential and further validates our investment in the underground expansion project," said company president and CEO William Lamb. "These continued discoveries of large, high-value diamonds demonstrate the consistent quality of our resource and its ability to deliver substantial returns."

Lucara's $683 million underground expansion at Karowe aims to extend the life of the mine beyond 2040.

Here's how Karowe's biggest hits rank on the Wikipedia's List of the "Largest Rough Diamonds" ever found…

2 – 2,492 carats, unnamed, 2024
3 – 1,758 carats, Sewelô, 2019
4 – 1,174 carats, unnamed, 2021
5 – 1,111 carats, Lesedi La Rona, 2015
7 – 1,094 carats, unnamed, 2024
8 – 1,080 carats, unnamed, 2023
9 – 998 carats, unnamed, 2020

Credits: Images courtesy of CNW Group/Lucara Diamond Corp.

British Olympian Adam Peaty, who missed winning a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke by a mere two-hundredths of a second, is still calling himself the "luckiest man in the world" after Holly Ramsay, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, accepted his marriage proposal during their sun-drenched vacation in Mallorca, Spain.



Holly revealed the big news to her 398,000 Instagram followers on Thursday in an ebullient post that included numerous shots of a new engagement ring that features a light-yellow, oval-cut diamond framed in a halo of smaller yellow diamonds.



Jewelry-industry pundits estimated the center stone weight at about 2 carats and put the ring's value at $30,000.

"I am marrying my best friend," Holly wrote. "I truly cannot put into words how I am feeling right now. I still remember how big my smile was the morning I got home from my first date with you. Thank you for letting the little girl inside of me feel loved, seen and happier than ever. I love you & I cannot wait to be your wife."



Adam's 727,000 Instagram followers were treated to a similar series of photos, along with a heartfelt message to his future wife.

"I can't believe you're going to be my wife. I'm truly the luckiest man on earth to have such a gentle, caring and beautiful woman by my side," he commented. "You fill my heart to the brim and give my soul peace. You have been with me when I’ve been at my lowest and helped me understand myself to navigate my own darkness. You have also celebrated the highs which have been so many, as for the first time in my life, I’m happy with the man I’ve become."



Adam's mention of "darkness" alludes to his well chronicled battle with depression and alcoholism. The 29-year-old swimmer won his first gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and defended his title at the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021. But, after suffering a fractured foot in May 2022, the Olympian began a downward spiral.

Thanks to the support of his new fiancée and his rediscovered faith, Adam was able to pursue another gold medal in Paris, which he missed by a whisker. Adam settled for the silver medal, after Italy's Nicolò Martinenghi beat him by just two-hundredths of a second.



Adam and the 24-year-old influencer met on the set of the British dance contest show, Strictly Come Dancing, where he starred with Holly's sister, Matilda.

Holly's famous dad, who is best known for his culinary reality shows Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef, gave a shout out to the couple on his Instagram page (18.1 million followers).

He wrote, "Congratulations to this gorgeous girl @hollyramsayy….so happy for you and @adam_peaty ! Hols, watching you become the woman you are today with your kindness and your love is absolutely infectious… Adam is a very lucky man! Welcome to the family."

Gordon punctuated the post with a red heart emoji.

Credits: Images via Instagram / hollyramsayy; Instagram / adam_peaty.

Not only did Spaniard Jon Rahm win the LIV Golf Individual Championship in Chicago on Sunday, but he also took home an $18 million bonus and a commemorative ring that rivals the style and ingenuity of those awarded by the NFL, MLB and NBA.



Shimmering with 5.78 carats in white diamonds, 1 carat of black diamonds and 1.2 carats of natural emeralds, the ring has a top that spins off to reveal a ball marker embossed with a QR code.



The QR code permalinks to a video clip of the winner's moment of victory, so he can relive the glory over and over again. What's more, the LIV logo on the top comes to life with green glow-in-the dark UV enamel detailing. Overall, the weight of the karat gold is 84.8 grams (3 ounces).



During a press conference on Wednesday, Rahm and Joaquin Niemann — the only two tour members who had enough points in the standings to have a chance to win the individual championship after Sunday's tournament — were told about the Ben Baller-designed ring for the first time.

“I’m trying to picture what it looks like right now," said Rahm, "and I can’t get that in my mind. It’s a lot. It’s definitely a lot. But, honestly, who cares what it is as long as you’re the one that has it. That’s, I think, what most of us will be thinking.”

Runner-up Niemann joked on Wednesday that if he won the ring, his wife probably wouldn't be that happy, knowing that his ring had more diamonds than hers.

“I feel it’s pretty special,” said the Chilean. “It’s a little different than other trophies, so it would be pretty cool to have an extra ring.”



On one side of the ring, "LIV Golf 2024" is rendered in gold and diamonds against a textured background resembling the dimples on a golf ball.

The opposite side spells out "Individual Champion" in diamond-embellished raised lettering.



The LIV Golf League logo on the hidden ball marker is rendered in alternating rows of gold and diamonds, all against a ground of round black diamonds.

Rahm had entered the Chicago tournament at the Bolingbrook Golf Club with a season score nearly three points ahead of Niemann, 195.17 points to 192.20. Rahm's three-stroke lead heading into the third round of the Chicago tournament held up, as he sealed the deal on Sunday with a tournament-leading 11 under par, compared to Niemann's 8 under.

The LIV Golf teams will be vying for the team championship rings next weekend at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, TX. Individual champion Rahm is the captain of Legion XIII. Runner-up Niemann is the captain of Torque GC.

Credits: Images via Facebook.com / LIV Golf.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, 1970s icon John Denver copes with separation anxiety by promising a wedding ring in the timeless hit, “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”



In this deeply personal song about the heartbreak of being far away from the one you love, the musician is about to embark on an extended tour, but before he heads to the airport, he wants to assure his girlfriend that he is totally committed to her.

With an impatient taxi driver waiting for him at the curb, Denver wakes his girlfriend at the crack of dawn. He begs her to “wait for him” and promises that they will tie the knot when he returns.

He sings, “Every place I go, I’ll think of you / Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you / When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring.”

“This is a very personal and very special song for me,” Denver told the BBC years after the song's release. “It doesn’t conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much. It still strikes a lonely and anguished chord in me, because the separation still continues, although not so long and not so often nowadays.”

The son of a US Army Air Forces pilot, Denver and his family moved often and it was difficult for the introverted little boy to make friends. Even as an adult, he was always tormented by the feeling of not knowing where the “right” place was.

The anguish of being on the road inspired a 23-year-old Denver to write “Babe, I Hate to Go” (later renamed “Leaving on a Jet Plane”) in 1966 during a layover at Washington airport. The song was first released on Denver’s studio album John Denver Sings, but didn’t become a smash hit until his producer, Milt Okun, introduced the song to Peter, Paul and Mary in 1969. That version went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the trio’s biggest hit.

As the writer of the immensely popular “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” Denver saw his solo career kick into overdrive. Bolstered by songs, such as “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Annie’s Song,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” Denver became one of the most popular acts of the 1970s.

Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., in Roswell, NM, in 1943, Denver spent most of his adult life in his much-beloved adopted state of Colorado. In fact, he took the name “Denver” to honor Colorado — and because the name Deutschendorf was not likely to fit on many marquees.

Over the course of his career, Denver recorded about 300 songs and sold more than 33 million albums worldwide. Sadly, his career was cut short when his two-seat plane crashed near Monterey Bay, CA, in 1997. Denver's remains were cremated and his ashes scattered over his beloved Rocky Mountains. He was 53.

Please check out the video of Denver performing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” with harmonies by 'Mama' Cass Elliott on the The Midnight Special in 1972. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Leaving on a Jet Plane”
Written and performed by John Denver.

All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go
I’m standin’ here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin’
It’s early morn
The taxi’s waitin’
He’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There’s so many times I’ve let you down
So many times I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Every place I go, I’ll think of you
Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time
Let me kiss you
Then close your eyes
I’ll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won’t have to leave alone
About the times, I won’t have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go



Credit: Photo by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

With the recent discovery of a 391-carat Type IIa diamond at the Meya Mine in Sierra Leone, the tiny West African nation can now claim to be the source of six of the world's most exceptional rough diamonds.



Officially, the still-unnamed stone will slot in at #54 on Wikipedia's "Largest Rough Diamonds" list, joining the Star of Sierra Leone (10th, 1973, 968.9 carats), The Woyie River (17th, 1945, 770 carats), Peace Diamond (21st, 2017, 709 carats), The Sefadu (24th, 1970, 620 carats) and Meya Prosperity (40th, 2017, 476.7 carats).

As we learned recently with the unveiling of the 2,492-carat diamond from the Karowe Mine in Botswana, the key to sourcing "mega-diamonds" is getting them through the sorting process intact.

In the case of the recent Meya find, mining officials reported that the 391.45-carat stone would have weighed 514.99 carats if it hadn't broken into three pieces. The other two chunks weighed 105.43 carats, and 18.11 carats, respectively.

Back in 2017, the 476.7-carat Meya Prosperity was part of a larger stone that met the same fate. That rough gem weighed 523.44 carats and also fractured into three pieces. The primary chunk was purchased by luxury jeweler Graff for $16.5 million.

"Our priority now is to ensure that going forward we can recover these high-value stones intact," said Jan Joubert, CEO of Meya Mining. "We will work closely with our engineering and processing partners to upgrade the plant, eliminate breakages and increase its capacity to recover exceptionally large diamonds."

Joubert emphasized that only four mines in the world "infrequently" recover these exceptional, high-quality, +500-carat diamonds.

Said Joubert, "The fact that Meya has recovered two +500-carat Type IIa diamonds after treating only 84,195 tons of competent kimberlite from the Meya River domain suggests that there is a high probability of recovering more and possibly bigger diamonds once the mine reaches steady state production of 500,000 tons of kimberlite throughput per annum."

The Type IIa classification represents a colorless diamond with no measurable impurities. Type IIa gems account for less than 2% of all natural diamonds.

The Meya Mining concession encompasses 80 square miles located within the diamond-rich Kono District.

Credit: Sierra Leone's minister of mines and mineral resources Julius Daniel Mattai shows off the 391.45-carat diamond. Photo courtesy of Sierra Leone's National Minerals Agency.

After a six-year legal battle, the fate of a $70,000 diamond solitaire engagement ring will be decided by Massachusetts' highest court. The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments this past Friday in a case that will finally provide clarity to the age-old question: Who gets to keep the diamond engagement ring if the wedding is called off?



The final ruling, which is expected within 130 days, will not only end the dispute between Bruce Johnson and Caroline Settino, who were briefly engaged in 2017, but also set an important legal precedent in Massachusetts.

Back in 2021, a Massachusetts Superior Court ruled that despite Johnson's suspicions that his fiancée was having an affair, the allegations were unfounded and it was his fault that the wedding was called off. As a result, Settino was entitled to keep the ring. Johnson could have retained the ring if he could have convinced the court that the breakup was not his fault.

But, then a Massachusetts Appeals Court in 2023 turned the lower court's decision on its head.

A panel ruled in Johnson's favor, stating that he may have had solid reasons to call off the engagement even if couldn't prove infidelity.

"Sometimes there simply is no fault to be had," the court said.

The Appeals Court asked the Supreme Court to take the case and decide once and for all whether engagement rings should be returned after a breakup, no matter who is at fault.

In fact, a majority of states currently take the "no fault" approach. They consider engagement rings a "conditional" gift that should be returned by the recipient if the relationship fails to culminate in a marriage. Who is at fault is not considered.

In this view, according to Virginia-based law firm SmolenPlevy, the ring is given with the understanding that the couple will get married in the future and symbolizes a verbal contract. Ownership of the ring is not fully transferred until the wedding ceremony is completed.

The law firm added that a minority of states take the opposite view. They consider the ring an "unconditional gift," so if either person breaks off the engagement, the recipient gets to keep the ring.

Ownership of the ring can be further complicated by whether the ring was given as a “gift” on a holiday or birthday, for example.

The Telegraph noted that in the UK, an engagement ring is considered to be an “absolute gift.” Unless there were conditions attached by the giver, the receiver of the ring is generally entitled to keep it. Still, UK cases can sometimes get muddied when the engagement ring is a family heirloom.

SmolenPlevy recommends that the best way to avoid costly, emotional and drawn-out litigation is to enter into a prenuptial or premarital agreement, which outlines clearly who will get the ring if the wedding never takes place. This agreement also can cover what happens to the ring if the couple gets married, but later divorces.

According to The Telegraph, the $70,000 ring at the center of the Massachusetts dispute is currently in the custody of a third party until a final verdict can be reached.

Credit: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.

A perfectly picturesque proposal under the bright lights of Times Square in New York City took a terrible turn for the worse when South Carolinian Chasom Wilson fumbled the engagement ring just before popping the question to his long-time love, Kayla Pressley.



This was the small-town couple's first time in New York City and Wilson was not aware of the unspoken rule that proposals and expensive engagement rings should never be exchanged atop a metal sidewalk grate.

Wilson and Pressley were just a few steps from the red bleachers (aka the TKTS Red Steps in the heart of the city) at about 8 p.m. under a light drizzle when Wilson went down on one knee, pulled out a ring box, snapped it open, and watched a princess-cut diamond engagement ring fly out of the box and disappear through the grate.

“It was like everything moved in slow motion,” Wilson, 33, told The Post. “I was in disbelief that this is what we came to New York for and it fell through. I felt like the worst man on the planet Earth.”

At first, Pressley was not sure why her boyfriend was using the flashlight on his phone to look through the grate, but it soon became apparent that the proposal had gone awry.

But, as luck would have it, Elvimar (Elvi) Rivas and Bertilio Caceres of Con Edison’s Steam Operations were doing routine safety patrols in the area. Wilson flagged down the utility workers in their truck and told them what had just happened.



“We took out a flashlight and we started looking down because we thought maybe it fell in one of our electric manholes," recalled Caceres, senior engineering designer. “We could see the ring, but it was super deep.”

But the duo quickly determined that the structure was not controlled by Con Edison. It was a subway vent operated by the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority). The ring had landed on a trash-strewn ledge about 20 feet below street level.

The Con Edison employees told a distraught Wilson to call 311 (NYC's non-emergency number) for assistance, but the deflated beau stated that he couldn't do that because they were returning to South Carolina the next day.

“I knew we wouldn’t get that ring back,” Wilson told The Post. “I said, ‘It’s over with.'”

“The whole weekend I kept thinking about this man's face and this ring,” recalled Rivas, senior analyst. “He was heartbroken.”

So, Rivas and Caceres called 311 on the tourists’ behalf and made it their mission to make sure the ring was rescued and returned to the couple in South Carolina.

On Monday, the pair sought the assistance of higher-ups at Con Edison and eventually an executive who was able to contact his counterpart at the MTA.

Soon after, an MTA Infrastructure Crew arrived at the scene of the loss. Since Times Square is so busy, they waited until the overnight shift so they could shut down the area to safely access the diamond ring.

The MTA team successfully recovered the ring and mailed it back to the couple.

“It made my whole year, just being able to help somebody recover a ring, especially in Times Square,” Rivas told The Post. “That’s near impossible to do.”

Pressley officially accepted Wilson's redo proposal on Stone Mountain in Cleveland, SC. The original ring had not made it to South Carolina in time for the ceremony and she accepted a similar replacement ring. Now she has two and she plans to keep them both.

Pressley told The Post that she believes the engagement happened the way it was supposed to.

“I just felt it was all God’s timing,” she said.

Their wedding is scheduled for May of 2025.

Credits: Couple photo courtesy of Kayla Pressley. Con Edison team (from left to right) Elvimar Rivas, Bertilio Caceres, Peter Knoblauch, Kiara Lebron, and John Masiello. Image courtesy of Con Edison.

Lucara Diamond Corp. CEO William Lamb recently sang the praises of the company's Mega-Diamond Recovery (MDR) system that's been yielding amazing finds at the company's Karowe Mine in Botswana.



Designed to identify and preserve the "biggest of the big," the technology was credited with securing the 2,492-carat stone discovered by the company on August 19. It's the second-largest rough diamond every discovered. Only the 3,106-carat Cullinan, discovered in South Africa in 1905, was larger.

During a recent podcast, Lamb told Rapaport senior analyst Joshua Freedman how Lucara learned from lessons of the past. He said the company started working on its MDR system just after the discovery of the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona in November of 2015. While that find was monumental, it was disturbing to learn that the stone was originally much larger. A 374-carat chunk, retrieved during the recovery process, fit perfectly into the main piece.

Lamb and his team believed the Lesedi La Rona may have been 2,000 carats or larger in its original state.

"If you ever came to our plant and you stood on the top of the feed conveyor, you would see material dropping off," he said. "A stone the size of the Lesedi diamond might actually survive the fall… but it's the 300 millimeter rock that fell onto the Lesedi that could have cleaved this piece off."

Lucara's mission was to recover mega-diamonds before there was any chance of damaging them. The system ejects the large rough gems from the processing stream and redirects them to a sort box to be inspected later.

"In 2017, we installed two new XRT (X-ray transmission) machines, upfront, just off to the primary crusher," Lamb said. "Up to a 5,000-carat stone could be recovered from the machines. We are looking for the biggest of the big."

Lamb told Freedman that the quality of the 2,492-carat diamond was still being accessed and added that it's still not clear how this "legacy" stone (defined as being valued at $10 million or more) will be sold.

Previously discovered legacy stones have been cut and polished into smaller stones, but this one still has a chance of being preserved intact.

Lamb left open the possibility that "the largest stone in living memory" could be sold to a museum or a collector.

Lamb recalled: "When we would pull out the Lesedi, we would say, 'There's not a person alive who has seen a stone of this size.' This is just that next step up."

The CEO also noted what the 2,492-carat rough gem means to Botswana and the natural diamond industry. For Botswana, the diamond translates into new revenue for roads and schools.

For the diamond industry, it's an opportunity to differentiate natural diamonds from their lab-grown counterparts.

“Let’s bring more people in so that they can actually understand what a natural diamond represents, what it means for Botswana, how this stone… was brought into the light,” Lamb told Freedman. “A lot of people don’t understand that a rough diamond has a tumultuous task of getting to surface. It travels between 200 and 500 kilometers in a magma tube at 1,000 degrees Celsius to get to surface. It is a phenomenon that we can… even recover these stones without them being destroyed.”

Check out the full Rapaport Diamond Podcast at this link.

Credit: Image courtesy of CNW Group/Lucara Diamond Corp.