Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo has said that following some trends observed in the diamond industry, Botswana’s diamond sector is starting to experience a recovery, citing that the market for large stones is very receptive and also quite buoyant.
Kenewendo made this announcement this week during the presentation of the 1,300-carat diamond by Lucara Botswana to President Duma Boko. Lucara Botswana announced the recovery of an exceptional 1,305.4-carat rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in Botswana on 13 July 2026, marking the tenth diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats recovered from the operation since production began.
Kenewendo indicated that Botswana continues to position itself as the global home of the world’s most exceptional diamonds. She added that through the House of Botswana, they have developed an entire annual project where they are supporting the marketing of the country’s diamonds.
The House of Botswana is a collaborative government initiative uniting the nation’s diamond value chain, tourism, and investment sectors to promote ethical, natural diamond production. It was officially launched on June 7, 2025, at the JCK Show (Jewellers Circular Keystone) at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, USA, by President.
“One to note is that there has been an unveiling of an entire jewellery set or collection by Messika in line with Okavango blue and others. Recently at the Met Gala we saw Beyonce wearing the Queen of Kalahari. So these are some of the things that we are continuously engaging on as the House of Botswana to market Botswana mined diamonds,” she said.
Messika is a famous French luxury jewellery house known for its modern diamond designs, signature moving stones, and everyday elegance. The partnership between the French high jewellery house Messika and Botswana centres on the historic creation of the Le Okavango Blue necklace featuring Botswana’s largest-ever blue diamond. Queen of Kalahari is an ultra-luxury high-jewellery collection created by Chopard. It was crafted from a single, flawless 342-carat rough diamond discovered in Botswana.
Kenewendo further announced that following months of engagements between the Botswana government and that of the US, Washington has removed the temporary tariffs that had placed a 10% duty on imports from the country. Botswana’s origin exports to the United States, including natural diamonds, are once again entering the American market duty-free following the expiry of temporary U.S. tariffs on 24 July 2026.
The US administration announced an initial heavy tariff (up to 37%) on imports from Botswana in April 2025. Following high-level bilateral talks, the effective rate was provisionally lowered to 15% from August 2025 to September 2025. In July 2026 the temporary Section 122 tariffs expired, fully removing the penalty and returning Botswana to a tariff-free status for natural diamonds under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) framework.
The sharp structural decline in Botswana diamond sales began in 2023, triggered by a broad global market downturn, weak international demand, and competition from lab-grown stones, with Debswana Diamond Company and the Okavango Diamond Company facing steep revenue drops and cancelled or scaled-back sales events as buyers backed away.
