The largest diamond ever found in North America
Fortuitous accidents sometime happen. Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine in the frigid North Slave region of Canada’s Northwestern territories yields plenty of diamonds; small diamonds consistently in the six carat range that are highly regarded as supporting cast but rarely a headlining act. Until something happened last year, when the largest uncut diamond in North America was discovered.
Named the Foxfire diamond, after a Tlicho description of the Northern Lights, it almost didn’t happen. Because of the consistent nature of the diamond bed at Diavik, the ore processor machines were set up to sieve for small stones, a method that would have separated and pulverised the stone were it not for Foxfire’s unusual long shape that caused it to slip sideways through the filtering screen. Rescued from an ucertain fate, the rough stone weighs 187.7 carats – nearly thirty times the usual size of Diavik stones – and is now touring New York City, London, Antwerp and Tel Aviv before being auctioned off online this month. It may be kept rough, polished into a brilliant stone or splintered into small gems, but a diamond this rare and with such an unusual story is guaranteed headlines wherever it goes.
