Nature is always full of surprises and the world of gemstones is no exception. In Siberia, a very rare, unique diamond has been discovered. It is a diamond that has another tiny diamond sitting inside it! Just incredible! As far as we know, this is the first time ever that a diamond like this has been found.
A Russian mining company called Alrosa unearthed the diamond. They have named it the “Matryoshka” diamond. This is after the traditional Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls. You may remember these beautiful wooden dolls from your childhood. I certainly do! A Matryoshka doll has a large outer doll that you can open to reveal another smaller doll. Each doll has another doll within it and so on until you come to the last tiny doll. The name “Matryoshka” suits this special diamond perfectly!
XRay Image of the “Matryoshka” Diamond
This amazing, unique diamond weighs in at 0.62ct.. The little diamond within it is estimated to weigh 0.02ct.. So very small! The incredible thing about it is that the smaller diamond is sitting inside an empty cavity within the larger diamond.
Scientists who have studied the diamond believe that the smaller diamond was formed first, millions of years ago. Then the outer diamond formed around the small diamond. A truly unique diamond!
The Diamond Will Be Studied by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
The diamond is being sent to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This is so the diamond can be studied further. The GIA certifies diamonds, as part of its diamond grading service. It also provides education to the trade and general public on gemstones. The GIA is a world leading authority on everything related to gemstones.
We don’t know if Alrosa intends selling the diamond. What would a diamond like this be worth? It is so hard to tell. What price do you put on a unique diamond such as this?
Apparently Alrosa has been on a roll in recent times. It discovered a super rare 14.83 carat pink diamond a few years ago.
We certainly live in a fascinating world and who knows what incredible stones nature has produced will be unearthed next?
*The diamond image in this article is an Xray view of the diamond. Alrosa supplied the image.
