Giant ‘diamond’ still unverified

THE giant ‘diamond’ found last month in the North West has still not been verified.

The President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, Ernest Blom, told Sapa on Friday that he was waiting to be told by the owners of the diamond when it would be available for verification. Blom said results of the verification process would be known “in a couple of days.”Asked why there was doubt about whether or not the stone was a diamond, Blom explained that the reason was its size.It is said to weigh over 7 000 carats.If it is genuine, Blom said that it would be ‘the holy grail of diamonds’ – and most certainly the largest of its kind ever discovered.Blom confirmed that the diamond was found in the North West but said that the exact location of the find would remain confidential.Asked what the stone could possibly be if it wasn’t a diamond, Blom replied that it could then possibly be a fluorite crystal.The world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria in 1905.Nampa-SapaBlom said results of the verification process would be known “in a couple of days.”Asked why there was doubt about whether or not the stone was a diamond, Blom explained that the reason was its size.It is said to weigh over 7 000 carats.If it is genuine, Blom said that it would be ‘the holy grail of diamonds’ – and most certainly the largest of its kind ever discovered.Blom confirmed that the diamond was found in the North West but said that the exact location of the find would remain confidential.Asked what the stone could possibly be if it wasn’t a diamond, Blom replied that it could then possibly be a fluorite crystal.The world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan, was discovered near Pretoria in 1905.Nampa-Sapa