THE auction of the 1,109 carat Lesedi La
Rona rough diamond from Botswana failed on Wednesday evening, with the
bids not reaching the reserve price.
"Sadly, Lesedi La Rona was not sold but it is a magnificent stone and it will go down in history as one of the greatest stones ever discovered," Sotheby’s said in a statement.
The diamond will be retained by Toronto-listed Lucara Diamonds, which mined the stone at its Karowe mine in Botswana.
Lesedi La Rona was expected to achieve $70m but the highest bid was $61m, below the reserve price. If it had sold for the estimated $70m price, it would have been the most expensive diamond sold.
The diamond was the second-largest rough diamond of gem quality to be mined. The largest was the Cullinan diamond found in 1905 at the Premier Mine – now called the Cullinan mine, which is owned by London-listed Petra Diamonds.
The Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into a number of diamonds that are now in the British crown jewels.
In May, Lucara sold a 813 carat diamond for $63m. The company said the diamond was the most expensive rough diamond sold.
© BDlive
"Sadly, Lesedi La Rona was not sold but it is a magnificent stone and it will go down in history as one of the greatest stones ever discovered," Sotheby’s said in a statement.
The diamond will be retained by Toronto-listed Lucara Diamonds, which mined the stone at its Karowe mine in Botswana.
Lesedi La Rona was expected to achieve $70m but the highest bid was $61m, below the reserve price. If it had sold for the estimated $70m price, it would have been the most expensive diamond sold.
The diamond was the second-largest rough diamond of gem quality to be mined. The largest was the Cullinan diamond found in 1905 at the Premier Mine – now called the Cullinan mine, which is owned by London-listed Petra Diamonds.
The Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into a number of diamonds that are now in the British crown jewels.
In May, Lucara sold a 813 carat diamond for $63m. The company said the diamond was the most expensive rough diamond sold.
© BDlive
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