Gem Diamonds Finds World’s 15th Largest White Diamond at Letseng, Lesotho
Gem Diamonds Ltd. (GEMD) found the world’s 15th largest white diamond at its Letseng Mine in Lesotho.
The company, based in London, said the 553 carat diamond is being analyzed in Antwerp. The stone is a type II D color diamond, the company said in a statement today.
The world’s biggest certified diamond is the 3,106-carat Cullinan, found at the mine near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. It was cut to form the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.
Gem’s mine also yielded the 603 carat Lesotho Promise. The 493 carat Letseng Legacy sold for $10.4 million in 2007 and the 478 carat Light of Letseng went for $18.4 million in 2008.
Rough diamond prices advanced 49 percent in the first half, accelerating after two straight years of more than 30 percent growth as stagnant production failed to meet Asian demand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Biesheuvel in London at tbiesheuvel@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net
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