A rough diamond about the size of a tennis ball, recovered from the Karowe mine in Botswana in November 2015, has been sold by Canadian-based Lucara Diamond Corp for $53m (£39m).
The 1,109-carat stone, at present the world’s largest uncut diamond, was bought by British diamond business Graff Diamonds for $47,777 per carat, and will now be cut and polished, Lucara said.
The Canadian firm had previously tried to sell the diamond at a Sotheby’s auction in June 2016, but bidding failed to reach the reserve price.
The stone, called Lesedi La Rona, or Our Light in the national language of Botswana, is said to be 2.5bn-3bn years old.
Laurence Graff said: “We are thrilled and honoured to become the new custodians of this incredible diamond.
The stone will tell us its story, it will dictate how it wants to be cut, and we will take the utmost care to respect its exceptional properties. This is a momentous day in my career, and I am privileged to be given the opportunity to honour the magnificent natural beauty of the Lesedi La Rona.” Article share tools Share this post on FacebookShare this post on Twitter