ANTWERP, Belgium - The biggest diamond to be found in 13 years, the "Lesotho Promise," was sold on Monday at auction for more than $12 million and is expected to fetch in excess of $20 million once it is cut up.
The 603-carat (120 gram) diamond, named after the tiny African mountain kingdom where it was found, went under the hammer at the Antwerp Diamond Centre and was sold to the South African Diamond Corporation, owner of luxury jewellers Graff.
The 10th largest white diamond ever to be found, it will be cut into a large heart-shaped diamond and several smaller stones which will then be sold.
The uncut diamond is a third bigger than a golf ball.
Johnny Kneller from the South African Diamond Corporation said that once it was cut up, he expected to sell the stones for a third more than the auction price.
"We can't say for sure but we hope it's going to fetch over $20 million," Kneller said.
Growing affluence has boosted sales and busy shopping streets such as London's Bond Street are awash with jewellers and luxury goods stores offering right-hand diamond rings for well-heeled women.
The biggest rough diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3,106 carats, while the second largest, the Excelsior, was 995 carats. Both were found in South Africa.
The Lesotho diamond was found at the Letseng Diamond Mine high in the mountains of the tiny nation which is surrounded by South Africa, by a woman who was sorting through the rocks.
"She started screaming and all the staff thought she had been electrocuted," said Clifford Elphick, head of Gem Diamond Mining, which owns 70 percent of the mine.
He said he was very pleased with the price that the gem had fetched.
Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
- CTV.ca | Noyce turns South African struggle into a thriller
Andy JonesBonnie Henna in Focus Features' 'Catch a Fire.' Updated Thu. Oct. 26 2006 7:45 PM ET Andy Johnson, CTV.ca News "Catch a Fire" presents the complicated, complex character of South desperately in the opposing causes they are fighting for...
- African-American: Cadillac launches in South Africa - Autoblog
Franky MicklestoneGM's on a mission to take over the South African market. Just one day after at GM's Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth, General Motors today announced it's bringing Cadillac to South Africa...
- Doubts about Africa behind worries about South African World Cup
Penny DitchJohannesburg - The chairman of the organizing committee for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa believes the doubts being expressed about his country's ability to host the event is down to worries about Africa, the Sapa newsagency reported Wednesday...
- VOA News - S. African Apartheid Strongman P.W. Botha Dies
Sammy KingImmediately after being elected Prime Minister of South Africa in 1978, P.W. Botha stood on the steps of parliament in Cape Town and promised the country a streamlined government that would administer openly, honestly and fairly...
- Artificial knees give African doctor a real sense of freedom
Franky MicklestoneGrateful patients too poor to pay Cole's $3 fee would instead shower the West African physician with baskets of fruit, fish, or live chickens...
News RSS