- Lesotho Promise
The Lesotho Promise, a 603 carat (121 g)
diamond stone of exceptional colour was unearthed on 22 August 2006 [BBC News Online, "Lesotho Diamond put up for sale",BBC , http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5409092.stm (accessed 2006-10-10)] at theLetseng diamond mine in the mountain kingdom ofLesotho . Announced on the 4th of October 2006, [Mail & Guardian Online, "Biggest diamond of the century found in Lesotho",Mail & Guardian , http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=285786 (accessed 2006-10-10)] it is the largest reported find this century and the 15th largest diamond ever found. The stone is rated 'D', the top colour band for diamonds.The diamond was sold at an
auction on 9th October 2006 inAntwerp ,Belgium , for US$12.4 million [BBC News Online, "Massive diamond bought for $12m",BBC , http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6034429.stm (accessed 2006-10-09)] . The buyer, The South African Diamond Corporation [http://www.safdico.com (SAFDICO)] , expects to sell the diamond for more than 20 million dollars after cutting.In July 2007 the finished stones were unveiled. The largest gem cut from the crystal is a 75-carat pear-shaped diamond, and the smallest is a 0.55-carat round brilliant. In all, twenty-six stones were fashioned from the rough gem, figuring as seven pear shapes, four emerald cuts, thirteen round brilliants and one heart shape. The finished gems total 224 carats.
The
Lesotho Brown (usually simply called the Lesotho) at 601 carats (120 g) was the largest diamond previously found at the mine.ee also
*
List of famous diamonds External links
* [http://www.safdico.com (SAFDICO)]
* [http://www.diamcad.be DIAMCAD ANTWERP]References
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