At 147 facets, Esperanza is a triolette, which is like a briolette, but in triangular form when viewed from the ends. A diamond unlike any other “When I first saw and held Esperanza, it was smooth as silk and glowed like the moon. I don’t see a lot of rough diamonds, but I never knew they could look like she did!” ~ Laura Stanley, Stanley Jewelers Gemologist A diamond like this only comes around once in a lifetime. Don’t get me wrong—my father, Designing Esperanza Mike Botha—has cut much larger diamonds in When news broke in June a woman named Brooke Oskarson had found Esperanza, I contacted Laura Stanley, vice-president of Stanley Jewelers in North Little Rock, Ark., to try to track her down, hoping we could collaborate in some way. Meanwhile, Oskarson had reached out to Neil Beaty, a gemmologist based in Denver where she lives. We decided a collaboration could help ensure Esperanza’s provenance and provide a feel- good story at a time when the diamond industry desperately needed one. his career than this 8.52-carat stone, but Esperanza was exceptional. For starters, it is one of the biggest ever to come out of the ground at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, the world’s only public diamond mine and where visitors are allowed to keep anything they find. I’ll never forget my first introduction to her at the Retail Jewelers Organization (RJO) Conference in 52 St. Louis, Mo., in August. Jim Summa of Summa Jewelers in nearby Kirkwood handed Esperanza to me and I was speechless. Several certified gemmologist appraisers (CGAs) from American Gem Society (AGS) had already determined the stone to be a D-colour, and in all likelihood, IF-clarity, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Image courtesy American Gem Society Laboratories By Evert P. Botha Jewellery Business / December 2015 JB_Dec2015.indd 52 2015-11-11 2:15 PM