Arctic Canadian, Taché & Samir Gems Work Responsibly with Largest Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond Ever Discovered in Canada Making History in the Process

[A DIAMOND LOUPE EXCLUSIVE STORY] - It was only just last September that Canadian mining company Arctic Canadian (AC) announced the recovery of a yellow diamond weighing an impressive 71.26 carats. The rough octahedron gem is currently the largest known fancy vivid yellow diamond ever discovered in Canada. The stone was unearthed in Arctic Canadian’s Ekati Mine just about 200 km south of the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories region of Canada where the company has found quite a few yellow diamonds, but not all of them carried the color grade of fancy intense yellow.

The mining process that Arctic Canadian implements reflects a whole-hearted commitment to corporate responsibility to their clients and a stern commitment to ecological mining practices. The Head of the AC’s Antwerp office Latifa El Kostit stated: “I was always proud to work for a Canadian company. We are a very transparent company.”

On the environmental side, AC’s standards are second to none. It is not uncommon to hear stories where the company chose to temporarily pause one or more of their mining operations, because they “found a bird's nest that was built on a wall” in the pit.  “We do follow protocols quite rigorously,” says Kristal Kaye CFO of the company’s operations in Canada. From regular emission reporting to monitoring caribou crossings and fish populations, to the replanting of preexisting flora, or the preservation of waterways; the company’s operational standards inclined to reducing ecological impact has won them at least 2 past awards for their environmental diligence. 

For this, the world has their eye on the 71.26 carat stone recently discovered. For it might not only represent the largest fancy vivid yellow ever discovered in Canada but also a stone that represents a high degree of veracity regarding the company’s green and ecological mining processes. Thus, going against the tide of the many political and environmental accusations levied against the diamond sector today.

After AC held a tender toward the end of 2022, the stone made its way into new hands.

Longtime Antwerp based diamond players Taché Diamond Company along with their partner Samir Gems secured the stone during the second week of December. Taché who celebrated the company’s 65th year in existence and their longtime partner Samir are no strangers to fancy colored and high-value gems. Both companies have collaborated on such historic stones such as the Pink Palesa, a 21.86 natural pink diamond out of the KAO mine in Lesotho. They were also responsible for the production of The Queen of the Kalahari, a 342-carat clear diamond of perfect color and absolute purity, which ended in a renowned collaboration with international luxury brand Chopard.

When asked about this stone and their collaboration with Arctic Canadian Jean-Jacques Taché, Anjal Bhansali (Samir Gems) and Manuel Rappaport (Taché) commented: “We are happy to work with Arctic Canadian on the acquisition of this stone and to contribute to the creation of such a historical diamond piece with our buyer. Canada yellows are special because of their high mining standards and green ways of working, and as far as this stone goes, it is one of the best materials that we have ever seen."

Taché historically has maintained a high reputation of excellence for transforming stones to retailers with growing attention to corporate responsibility, environmental impact and with a strong commitment to keeping as much of their business processes as possible in Antwerp, where they believe the future of the diamond industry still lies.

Taché and Samir will be overseeing the sale and transformation of the stone in collaboration with a yet undisclosed international luxury brand about the future of the stone, its final transformation, and point of sale. Talks have been underway between the parties since the close of 2022 with the results of such negotiations to be soon revealed to the general public.