Big Diamond in Little Lesotho

There's been a deluge of diamond delights for the jewelry hound to bite into lately - from the Wittelsbach/Hope display at the Smithsonian to the rare pink diamond that's sure to set price records at Sotheby's later this month.

So it was almost too much to read about the whopper of a rough diamond found in the small African kingdom of Lesotho this week. Like eating a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk is too much after a pizza delivery. Or watching Joan Rivers on E! is too much after ....actually, I'll just leave it at Miss Joan.

But I don't MAKE the diamond news, folks - I just drool over it.

So, listen. Can you imagine unearthing a 185-carat diamond and just, like, handing it over to your boss at the mine? Well, some poor Lesotho subject did just that last week - and Gem Diamonds got to boast of their second big diamond find in as many months.

According to miningweekly.com, Gem Diamonds' Letšeng mine has produced a number of exceptional diamonds since they acquired the operation in 2006 - including the 603-ct(!) Lesotho Promise, the 493-ct Letšeng Legacy and the 478-ct Light of Letšeng that sold for $12.4-million, $10.4-million and $18.4-million, respectively.

Pass the New York Super Fudge Chunk, Mary. I need to sit down.

This particular stone is expected to yield top color and top clarity once polished, the company said in a release - and could yield between $7 million and $10 million.

I'll have a large pepperoni, extra cheese - - and...yeah, throw in the cheesy bread....

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Where To Pick Up A Diamond Or Two

The last year and a half has been a particularly rich one for the U.S.’s only diamond mine. The Crate of Diamonds State park in Murfreesboro has spewed out more than a few carats worth of diamonds over the last 18 months . Stones as large as 3 or 4 carats have been found by visitors who come to the world’s only ‘pick-your-own’ diamond field. For just a few dollars, visitors enter the park and are allowed to prospect for diamonds, with the ‘finders keepers’ law of ownership. In November, a local convenience store worker recovered 4.3 carater, worth an estimated $20,000 – not bad for a day’s digging.

According to the Associated Press, Eric Blake, 32, of Appleton, Wis., spotted a 3.92-carat white stone, along a trail when he set down a bucket of mud he was carrying to a washbasin. He was visiting the park with his fiancée (and yes, he’d already given her a diamond engagement ring). The stone is big enough to fashion into jewelry, but the surprised diamond miner said that he hadn't decided whether to have it placed into a setting.

Earlier, a sixth grader found a 1.23-carat diamond during a school trip to the park. Uncut, the gem is worth $800, but it could be worth 10 times that once cut. The diamond’s finder wanted to trade it in for a PlayStation 2, but her mom nixed that idea.

Another visitor discovered a 2.28-carat diamond. Bill Trythall named the diamond for his father: the Trythall Senior Diamond. He says the diamond is shaped "like the head of an eagle."

The largest diamond ever found in the United States, a 40-carat white stone named Uncle Sam, was unearthed at the Park in 1924.

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