Rare 'Gem Inside A Gem' Ancient Diamond Found In Russian Mine

A first of its kind "gem inside a gem" diamond estimated to be 800 million years old has been unearthed from a mine in Siberia, Russia.

The rare jewel weighs just 0.62 carats, with a tiny diamond that moves freely inside it, weighing approximately 0.02 carats. The internal cavity volume is 6 cubic mm and the internal crystal volume is 1.6 cubic mm. This is the first diamond of its kind in recorded history, said Russian state mining company ALROSA.

The "priceless stone" has been named "Matryoshka" as it resembles traditional Russian nesting dolls.

It was during a sorting process that specialists of the Yakutsk Diamond Trade Enterprise discovered this unusual gem and handed it over to the Research and Development Geological Enterprise of ALROSA. Here, scientists examined it using several methods of spectroscopy along with x-ray microtomography.

Based on the results of the tests, the scientists concluded how the diamond was formed. They explained there was an internal diamond at first and the external one was formed during later stages of growth, said ALROSA.

In a statement, Oleg Kovalchuk, Deputy Director for Innovations at ALROSA’s Research and Development Geological Enterprise, said this is the first diamond of its kind in the history of global diamond mining.

“As far as we know, there were no such diamonds in the history of global diamond mining yet. This is really a unique creation of nature, especially since nature does not like emptiness. Usually, some minerals are replaced by others without cavity formation,” he added.

This is not the first time a unique discovery has been made by the diamond mining group. In July, 2018, they found a football-shaped diamond in a mine, reported the Daily Mirror.