set out $ 70 million to spare ? You could buya home in Beverly Hills , several luxuriousness helicopters , or , if you ’re fond to rarefied gems , a tennis bollock - sized diamond called the Lesedi la Rona .
The 1109 - kt stone — the largest gem - quality diamond discovered in more than a century , and the secondly - expectant gem - timbre rough adamant ever found — was get wind in Botswana last November at a mine owned by Canada - basedLucara Diamond Corporation . Thanks to its size of it and exceeding transparency , the diamond is expect to fetch around ( or even more than ) $ 70 million when auctioneerSotheby’ssells it in London on June 29 , consort toYahoo News .
If it meets expected value , that $ 70 million cost tag will be book - breaking . It ’s way more than the current record diamond cost of $ 48.5 million , which Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau give for the 12.03 - kt polished“Blue Moon ” diamondlast November . ( Lau gave the invaluable gem to his 7 - year - old daughter . )
“ Not only is the harsh superlative in size and quality , but no rough even remotely of this weighing machine has ever been offered before at public auction sale , ” David Bennett , chairman of Sotheby ’s jewelry division , sound out in a tone ending [ PDF ] .
Lesedi la Rona , which means “ our light ” in the Tswana lyric of southern Africa , is enormous — but it ’s still smaller than the largest diamond ever constitute , theCullinan Diamond . The 3106 - karat gem was dug up in South Africa in 1905 . It was cut into nine dressed Stone , some of which adorn pieces of ceremonial raiment in the UK ’s Crown Jewels collection .
Botswana is the world’ssecond - great diamond - supplying nation , behind Russia . Lesedi la Rona ’s discovery was a high point in the nation ’s mining account — but some experts foretell the country ’s adamant reserves will run out in as little as 15 twelvemonth , pass on the country sputter for another lucrative taxation source , The Nationalreports .
[ h / tYahoo News ]
streamer image good manners ofLucara Diamond
