South African Diamond (Safdico), the manufacturing arm of London-based jeweller Laurence Graff, paid US$12.36 million for the 603-carat “Lesotho Promise Diamond” found at the Letseng diamond mine in Lesotho.
The bidding took place in Antwerp, Belgium, and Graff trumped bids from Antwerp’s Rosy Blue Group, Alain Sternberg and Omega Diamonds.
The diamond is the 15th largest ever recovered and the largest since the 777-carat Millennium Star — owned by diamond powerhouse De Beers — was found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1993.
The Lesotho Promise is a type-D diamond, the best grade.
Safdico says the diamond will be cut into a heart shape, as well as made into several smaller stones.
A 70% stake in the Letseng diamond mine was recently purchased by Gem Diamond Mining for US$112 million; the Lesotho government owns the rest.
The deposit at Letseng is the country’s sole source of gems and the world’s highest diamond mine. It was found in 1957 and mined by De Beers between 1977 and 1982. The mine’s full name is Letseng-la-Terae, which in the Sotho language translates to “the swamp in the corner.”
The world’s biggest uncut diamond was the 3,106-carat Cullinan found at Premier mines in South Africa in 1905. That stone produced the 530-carat Star of Africa, the second-largest cut diamond in the world, which lies in the sceptre of the British royal family in the Tower of London. A carat is equal to a fifth of a gram.
Jewelry designed by Graff Diamonds has been worn by famous people such as Paris Hilton and Oprah Winfrey.
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