The Okavango Blue Diamond

An oval-shaped blue diamond weighing 20.46 carats is one of the rarest in the world. Named the Okavango Blue Diamond, it was discovered at Orapa mine in Botswana, and it holds many secrets about our Earth in its curious azure hue.

"From the first moment we saw the diamond, it was clear we had something very special," said Marcus ter Haar of Okavango Diamond Company in a statement. "Everyone who has viewed the 20-carat polished diamond has marveled at its unique coloration, which many see as unlike any blue stone they have seen before. It is incredibly unusual for a stone of this color and nature to have come from Botswana – a once-in-a-lifetime find."

The diamond is thought to have come from around 668 kilometers (415 miles) below the ground, reports PopSci. This depth is a place where boron isn't that common, and yet the Okavango diamond is full of it. It contains more boron than nitrogen, an element that's far more common in the environment and typically holds the majority share of most diamonds.

Somewhat poetically, Okavango's blue is tied to the big blue, as it's thought boron was able to make it so deep into the Earth as a result of tectonic plates colliding, sending one underground and taking boron from the ocean with it. All of this happened a cool three billion years ago. It's a process known as subduction and one we're learning more about through rare and peculiar gems like the Okavango blue diamond.

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