Lesotho Promise
The Lesotho Promise, a 603 carat (121 g) diamond stone of exceptional colour was unearthed on 22 August 2006 at the Letseng diamond mine in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Announced on 4 October 2006, it was the largest reported find this century and the 15th largest diamond ever found. The stone is rated 'D', the top colour band for diamonds.

The diamond was sold at an auction on 9 October 2006 in Antwerp, Belgium, for US$12.4 million. The buyer, The South African Diamond Corporation (SAFDICO), expected to sell the diamond for more than US$20 million after cutting.

In July 2007 the finished stones were unveiled. The largest gem cut from the crystal is a pear-shaped diamond, and the smallest is a round brilliant. In all, twenty-six stones were fashioned from the rough gem, figuring as seven pear shapes, four emerald cuts, thirteen round brilliants and one heart shape. The finished gems total .

The Lesotho Brown (usually simply called the Lesotho) at 601 carats (120 g) was the largest diamond previously found at the mine.
Q261247
carat
Concept
Q5283
diamond
Concept
Q8063
stone
Concept
Q3642234
Letseng diamond mine
Concept
Q1013
Lesotho
LOC
Q723995
rated 'D'
UNK
Q177923
auction
Concept
Q12892
Antwerp
LOC
Q31
Belgium
LOC
Q4917
US$
Concept
Q3149936
Lesotho Brown
Concept
Q6531333
Lesotho Promise
LOC
2006-08-22T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
22 August 2006
DATE
2006-10-04T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
4 October 2006
DATE
2006-10-09T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
9 October 2006
DATE
2007-07-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 2007
DATE
+121^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
121
NUMBER
+15^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
15
NUMBER
+12.4^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
12.4
NUMBER
+20^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
20
NUMBER
+120^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
120
NUMBER
instance of
location of discovery
time of discovery or invention
country
country