By Angela Hill

Diamond largest to be cut in Saskatchewan

Jul 19, 2011 | 6:24 AM

What brings a man from Los Angeles to Prince Albert via Sierra Leone — very large diamond.

“That’s certainly the biggest diamond that’s ever been cut in Saskatchewan,” said Evert Botha, business development manager for Embee Diamonds.

Jim McKeon, a diamond sourcer, brought his gems to Prince Albert to be cut by Mike Botha, CEO of Embee and an experienced diamond cutter.

McKeon met the Bothas at a jewelry convention in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, where Mike did some work with some of McKeon’s lower-quality diamonds.

“Amazingly he did his magic and turned the diamonds into something we could work with,” McKeon said.

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“Since then, it’s just been ideal. He is by far the best diamond cutter I’ve worked with yet in the business and his reputation speaks for itself.”

The work done at Embee is worth the trip, he said, but it’s not a trip that he makes very often.

“That’s the other advantage of working with Embee Diamonds is high level of integrity and trust, that we know we can really rely on them to do a fantastic job and perform on their commitments,” McKeon said.

However, this most-recent diamond did have McKeon traveling with it.

The finished diamond is 7.7 carats and worth about $400,000. It started in Sierra Leone, near the Liberia border.

“The bigger the diamonds are, the rarer they are,” said Evert.

“I think if anybody in North America can cut stones in that size and range, and that quality level, it’s my father.”

The stone has finished undergoing the cutting and polishing process and has left the city, on route to its new owners.

ahill@panow.com