The diamond is called Lesedi la Rona
The offer of 61 million did not exceed the minimum bid at the auction
A 1,109-carat diamond was found in the Lukara mine in Botswana
So, the price indicated on the price tag of the largest diamond found more than 100 years ago turned out to be too high even for the thickest wallets present at the auction in London.
The 1109 carat diamond is called Lesedi la Rona, or translated into Russian from the Tswana language spoken in Botswana, “Our Light”, in Botswana it was found, it was expected that it would be sold for 86 million, based on what happened at the diamond auction in May. This would make it the most expensive rough gemstone in the world. But instead, the most significant bid of 61 million did not even cover the reserve price of the Sotheby auction on Wednesday night, and the diamond remained unsold.
“Sotheby ran a global advertising campaign that gathered all the interests, but it seems that the auction has simply stalled,” says Edward Sterk, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in London. It’s unclear what will happen next,” he said. We see potential in private sales. Perhaps by agreement, since Lucara is already of some interest, as well as polished stones, says Sterk.
The massive diamond was mined at Lucara Diamond Corp.’s Karowe mine in Botswana. The company, headquartered in Vancouver, is already famous for finding the largest diamonds in the world, as well as the very best, such as their 813-carat diamond was sold for $63 million in May, to Nemesis International DMCC, a diamond trading company based in Dubai.
The sale of Lucara on Constellation in May, the cost was determined as $775,000 per carat, based on the final valuation. The same calculation was used for the Lesedi la Rona, so the starting price should have been $86 million.
“The company will retain the exceptional 1109-carat Type IIa Lesedi La Rona diamond as the offer has not reached the reserve price,” Lucara’s chief executive, William Lamb, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shares of Lucara in Toronto fell 18% after unsuccessful trading, the biggest industrial drop since September 2013.
Lesedi la Rona, slightly smaller than a tennis ball, is second only to the Cullinan, a 3106-carat gemstone found near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905. It was organ in the shape of the great star of Africa and the Lesser star of Africa, which adorn the crown of the British Empire.
The largest and rarest diamonds in the world have proven to be more resistant than smaller rough stones, which is the name given to rough diamonds just mined from the mine. The price of rough diamonds fell 18% last year, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis.
The diamond auction took place during Contemporary Art Week on Tuesday, with 52.2 million pounds ($70 million) worth of paintings sold at Sotheby, apparently collectors decided to buy them, taking advantage of the fall in sterling after Britain voted to leave the EU.
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