The diamond was discovered in the Letseng Mine on September 8, the company said in a statement. It has been analyzed by experts in Antwerp and found to weigh 478 carats, with very few inclusions and of outstanding color and clarity. "It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history," the company said. Letseng is one of the most productive mines in history four of the world's 20 largest rough diamonds have been found at the mine, including the three largest found this century.
Before it is cut into gems it is hard to value the diamond, but a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-quality color and clarity had recently sold for $12 million (around 5.5 million pounds). "Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," Clifford Elphick, the chief executive of Gem Diamonds, said in a statement.
Clifford Elphick was having lunch last month when he got a text message asking him to the call the office. Gem Diamonds, his company, had just discovered the world’s eighteenth-biggest white diamond in Lesotho. “I had a message saying ‘Phone me urgently’,” he says. “I thought: ‘This is either good news or bad news.’ Funnily enough, we did order a bottle of champagne and have a toast.”
The uncut 493-carat diamond is expected to fetch up to $10 million (£4.9 million) when sold this month in Antwerp. It is the latest example of the burgeoning price growth in the diamond market. While metals such as copper and zinc have stolen the headlines during the current commodity boom, diamond traders are now benefiting from their very own version of a “super-cycle”. In a market notorious for various grades and specifications, average prices for rough diamonds – those yet to be cut or polished for the retail trade, a process that can take 18 months – are up by 10 per cent year-on-year.
The price growth is even stronger for higher-quality stones, those often above two to five carats and containing fewer flaws or inclusions (spots caused by graphite). Gem Diamonds is achieving average prices of $2,000 per carat for the diamonds discovered at its Letseng mine in Lesotho - 35 per cent above the levels seen a year ago.
Before it is cut into gems it is hard to value the diamond, but a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-quality color and clarity had recently sold for $12 million (around 5.5 million pounds). "Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," Clifford Elphick, the chief executive of Gem Diamonds, said in a statement.
Clifford Elphick was having lunch last month when he got a text message asking him to the call the office. Gem Diamonds, his company, had just discovered the world’s eighteenth-biggest white diamond in Lesotho. “I had a message saying ‘Phone me urgently’,” he says. “I thought: ‘This is either good news or bad news.’ Funnily enough, we did order a bottle of champagne and have a toast.”
The uncut 493-carat diamond is expected to fetch up to $10 million (£4.9 million) when sold this month in Antwerp. It is the latest example of the burgeoning price growth in the diamond market. While metals such as copper and zinc have stolen the headlines during the current commodity boom, diamond traders are now benefiting from their very own version of a “super-cycle”. In a market notorious for various grades and specifications, average prices for rough diamonds – those yet to be cut or polished for the retail trade, a process that can take 18 months – are up by 10 per cent year-on-year.
The price growth is even stronger for higher-quality stones, those often above two to five carats and containing fewer flaws or inclusions (spots caused by graphite). Gem Diamonds is achieving average prices of $2,000 per carat for the diamonds discovered at its Letseng mine in Lesotho - 35 per cent above the levels seen a year ago.
LONDON (Reuters)
Post
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento