The Peace Diamond is a 709-carat rough stone found in 2017 by artisanal miners in Kono District, eastern Sierra Leone. Rather than move it through informal channels, the miners handed it to their community leaders, who brought it to the Government of Sierra Leone.
It was sold at open international auction in December 2017. The sale was conducted transparently, and the proceeds were returned to Sierra Leone — to the government and to the community where the diamond was found.
Those funds built infrastructure that had not existed in Koyardu: a school, a medical center, clean water, and roads. The village became known as Peace Diamond Village.
Since then the initiative has grown into the Peace Diamond Trade Missions, which bring diamond and jewelry professionals from around the world to Sierra Leone to see the source for themselves and to build direct relationships with the people who work it.