This follows a two-year cutting and polishing process that transformed a 1,138-carat rough crystal into one of the rarest diamonds of its kind. The finished diamond, named Infinity, received a fancy black colour grade.
The crystal was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Veteran De Beers diamond buyer, Andrew Coxon, later acquired it in 1975. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) examined the rough crystal in 2013. The institute identified it as the largest single-crystal natural diamond it had examined at the time.
Cutting and polishing took place from 2022 to 2024, resulting in the 888.88-carat finished diamond. Diamond Trading NV currently owns the diamond.
The company unveiled Infinity at the Dubai Diamond Conference 2026 on 26 October. Daniel de Belder of Diamond Trading NV described the team’s efforts to preserve the diamond’s natural features.
“It is a black diamond. It carries features that are witnesses of the eruptive process, when it came from 150 kilometres deep down to the surface," he said.
“We adapted the plan and the manner in which we shape it to what nature is. We did not try to erase the traces of this very dramatic and fast transit from deep in the earth.”
Fancy black is a colour designation for natural black diamonds, which are typically opaque and contain numerous inclusions. These characteristics make conventional clarity grading unsuitable. The GIA also distinguishes natural black diamonds from treated and lab-created counterparts.
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