They Just Found One of the Biggest Diamonds in History

Bright Side

They discovered an absolutely massive diamond—2,492 carats, making it the second-largest ever found! 💎 The Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. made the announcement in August 2024, and it all happened in Botswana’s Karowe mine. Funny enough, this is the same place where the previous second-place diamond, the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, was found in 2015. That one sold for a jaw-dropping $53 million just two years later! Now, everyone’s wondering how much this new giant will be worth. One thing’s for sure—someone is about to get very rich!  Credit: Lucara Diamond Corp / YouTube Mining Review Africa / YouTube Imiger Studios / YouTube TOMRA / YouTube Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00It's dark, and it's hot, and it's difficult to breathe deep underground in Karowi Mine

00:06in the heart of Botswana.

00:08It's been countless hours since your shift started, and yet another rock in your hands

00:13doesn't look promising.

00:15On the other hand, there is a tiny chance that it's the largest diamond you've ever

00:20found.

00:21You decide to inform your Canadian bosses from Lucara Diamond Corp, and bingo!

00:27The stone you've found turns out to be a breathtaking 2,492 carat diamond, the second

00:34largest ever found.

00:37Now the average engagement ring size is 1.7 carats.

00:41It means that just this diamond could be enough to supply rings for more than 1,465 brides.

00:48You can compare the size of the previous stone with the size of a fist.

00:53And the weight of this priceless giant is over a pound.

00:57Its value hasn't been determined yet, but how about we speculate a bit?

01:01So another diamond from the same mine, called the Constellation, was sold for $63 million

01:08in 2016.

01:10And that was only 813 carats, less than a third of this new one's size.

01:17The only other discovered diamond that's larger is the famous Cullinan Diamond.

01:22It was discovered in South Africa back in 1905 and weighed 3,106 carats.

01:29Now calculate how many engagement rings we could make out of it, and write the number

01:33down in the comments.

01:35Sadly, it was later cut into several smaller diamonds, as some of those pieces are now

01:41part of the British Crown Jewels.

01:44Interestingly, once there was an even larger diamond-like stone, a black diamond called

01:50Carbonado.

01:52It was found above ground in Brazil in the late 1800s.

01:56The coolest thing about it is that it may have come from a meteorite.

02:00The Sergio Carbonado, which is the stone's name, was broken into smaller pieces.

02:05They wanted to use it in industrial drill bits because it's one of the toughest materials

02:10on Earth.

02:11This new diamond was actually found with the help of advanced technology.

02:15The company used an X-ray system called Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray Transmission to detect

02:21the stone.

02:22This isn't the first record-breaking diamond Lucara has found at the Karowi mine.

02:28Back in 2019, they discovered the Suelo Diamond, which was 1,758 carats.

02:35At that time, it was the second largest diamond in the world.

02:39Luxury brand Louis Vuitton later purchased the gem for an undisclosed sum.

02:45And before that, in 2015, they found the Lacedi La Rona diamond at the same mine.

02:52It weighed 1,109 carats and brought the company $53 million in 2017.

03:00Diamonds aren't the only amazing thing you can find in the ground.

03:04The better and deeper you dig, the rarer objects you're likely to discover, like an ancient

03:10lipstick for example.

03:12It might be the oldest lipstick in the world since it's about 5,000 years old.

03:18This deep red lip paint was found in a stone vial in southern Iran.

03:23The vial actually popped up in 2001, but it took researchers until recently to figure

03:28out what it really was.

03:31Because it's not like modern lipstick in a tube, people likely applied it with a brush.

03:37Researchers are happy since this find could give us a glimpse into what women from the

03:42Bronze Age might have done to stand out.

03:45Those from elite societies probably applied this lipstick to look glamorous and show off

03:50their high status.

03:52Now here's the backstory of the vial.

03:55It came from a 3rd millennium BCE graveyard and was linked to the powerful Marhazi civilization.

04:02It was a big deal in that part of Mesopotamia at the time.

04:06The graveyard was uncovered after flooding and unfortunately, looters got their hands

04:10on many items.

04:12But luckily, the authorities managed to recover this particular piece.

04:16The vial caught scientists' attention because it was different from other items they'd

04:21found.

04:22Normally they'd come across grey, compact substances in similar containers.

04:27But when they opened this particular one, a loose, fine powder spilled out.

04:32It was dark greyish-purple in color, nothing like what they'd seen before.

04:38When the researchers analyzed the powder, they found out that it was made with hematite

04:42which gave it a rich, deep red color.

04:46It also had other ingredients like vegetable oils and waxes, making it really similar to

04:51what you'd expect in a modern lipstick.

04:54Apparently, back in the Bronze Age, makeup was a sign of luxury and superior status in

05:00that area.

05:01It showed off wealth and power, especially in elite circles.

05:06By the way, the researchers don't want to claim for sure that this is the world's

05:10oldest lipstick, because who knows, something older might turn up someday.

05:17How about we move to Bulgaria right now and do some digging there?

05:21Ah, wait, there's no need to take a spade and dirty your hands.

05:25An amazing discovery is already waiting for you.

05:29There they've found a large marble statue.

05:31It's almost 7 feet tall, which might depict Hermes, a Greek deity.

05:37But the craziest thing is that it was buried in an ancient sewer for around 2,000 years!

05:43The statue is in really good shape, especially the head, which is super well-preserved.

05:49There are some cracks in the hands, but overall, it's in surprisingly great condition, according

05:54to the scientific director of the excavation.

05:57And here's how they found the statue.

05:59The team was doing a routine dig in southwestern Bulgaria, near the Greek border.

06:05This area used to be part of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica, which dates back to the

06:104th century BCE.

06:13While digging, the researchers stumbled upon the statue's marble foot.

06:17From there, they carefully uncovered the rest of it.

06:20It was a total surprise for them, since they didn't expect to find anything like this.

06:27Right now, the team is working on safely removing the statue from the sewer.

06:32It's really heavy, so they're using a crane to lift it out and transport it to the History

06:36Museum in Petric.

06:38Once they restore and conserve it, the plan is to put it on display.

06:43Experts are very excited about this find.

06:45It could teach us more about the local culture in Heraclea Sintica, which isn't a very well-known

06:51ancient site.

06:53Now if you're dreaming of making discoveries like this one but don't have a degree, don't

06:58lose heart.

06:59Even an amateur can make a scientific breakthrough.

07:01For example, you could find a Roman dodecahedron.

07:05It's this weird, mysterious, 12-sided metal object about the size of a grapefruit.

07:11And no one really knows what they're used for.

07:14Historians have been scratching their heads about these things for centuries.

07:19This particular dodecahedron was discovered last summer in a farmer's field near Norton

07:23Disney, about 35 miles southeast of Sheffield.

07:27A group of volunteers had already found Roman coins and brooches in the area, so they knew

07:33the field might hold more treasures.

07:36A geophysical survey had shown areas underground where the Earth's magnetic field was disturbed,

07:42hinting that something might have been hidden there.

07:45The team started digging trenches during a two-week excavation.

07:49From the second to last day, in Trench 4, someone spotted the dodecahedron.

07:55Richard Parker, the group's secretary, was nearby making tea when he heard the shout.

08:00He said they were all shocked because they hadn't found much metal, and then, boom, that

08:06awesome artifact simply popped up.

08:09The extra cool thing about that dodecahedron was that it was complete, which is rare.

08:15Many others found before were broken or incomplete, plus it's larger than usual.

08:21Roman dodecahedrons can be as small as a golf ball, but this one is closer to a grapefruit.

08:26Now the dodecahedron is on display at a local museum.

08:32So far, over 100 Roman dodecahedrons have been found in northwestern Europe, mostly

08:37in former Roman territories like the Gallo-Roman regions.

08:41They date back to somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE.

08:46Each one is a hollow metal shell, usually made of bronze.

08:50It has 12 faces with differently sized holes on each face.

08:54Around the holes, there are concentric rings imprinted into the metal, and at every corner

08:59where the faces meet, there's a small stud.

09:02There's no writing on them, and nothing in Roman texts mentions them at all.

09:08That's why nobody knows what these dodecahedrons were for.

09:11There are loads of theories.

09:13They could have been toys, dice, mace heads, or even tools for measuring distances in Roman

09:19artillery.

09:20Some people even think they were used for knitting gloves or even figuring out dates

09:25using the stars.

09:26But most of those ideas don't really hold up, so the mystery remains.

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