The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been found in Botswana, the world's leading diamond producer.
Diamond
According to the Lucara Diamond firm, the 1,111-carat stone discovered in the Karowe mine, around 300 miles north of Gaborone, the country's capital.
"The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century... cannot be overstated," said William Lamb, the CEO of Canadian diamond producer Lucara Diamond, in a statement.
Two additional stones were also recovered from the Karowe mine, both "exceptional" white diamonds of 813 stone and 374 carats, according to Lucara.
"I am truly at a loss for words. This has been an amazing week for Lucara with the recovery of the second largest and also the sixth largest gem quality diamonds ever mined," Mr Lamb said.
It is the biggest diamond to be discovered in Botswana and the largest find in more than a century.
The 1,111-carat diamond is the biggest to be discovered in Botswana, but the world's largest stone, the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, was found in South Africa in 1905. It was cut into nine separate stones, many of which take pride of place in the British Crown Jewels.