Sierra Leone

How long would you sift sand for the chance of finding a large diamond?

In Sierra Leone, people dig up gravel and sand that rivers have sorted for them over a long time, load it into a sieve, and wash away everything but the heaviest grains. Most sieves turn up nothing. But every single one is handled as if it could be the one that counts.

In 1972, one of them was. The Star of Sierra Leone weighed almost 194 grams — the largest diamond ever found lying loose in sand and gravel, rather than mined from solid rock.

A single find, among countless grains of sand.