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World's biggest uncut diamond sells for $53-M

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/09/26/diamond-2017-092617.jpg"/><figcaption>A model displays the 1109 carat &quot;Lesedi La Rona&quot; diamond at Sotheby&#x27;s in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. on May 4, 2016. Reuters file photo</figcaption></figure></div>British jeweler Graff said Tuesday it has purchased the world&#x27;s largest uncut diamond –roughly the size of a tennis ball –for $53 million (P2.7 billion).Canadian miner Lucara Diamond sold to Graff the 1,109-carat gem, the Lesedi La Rona, which was found in Botswana&#x27;s Karowe mine in late 2015.&quot;We are thrilled and honored to become the new custodians of this incredible diamond,&quot; said company chairman, Laurence Graff, in a statement.&quot;The stone will tell us its story, it will dictate how it wants to be cut, and we will take the utmost care to respect its exceptional properties.&quot;Lucara confirmed the hefty price tag in a statement issued in Vancouver.&quot;The discovery of the Lesedi La Rona was a company defining event for Lucara,&quot; said William Lamb, president and chief executive of Lucara.&quot;It solidified the amazing potential and rareness of the diamonds recovered at the Karowe mine.&quot;The rough diamond had previously failed to meet its reserve price of more than $70 million at a Sotheby&#x27;s auction in 2016.Graff is already the owner of a 373-carat diamond, which was bought earlier this year and formed part of the original stone.Lesedi La Rona means &quot;our light&quot; in Botswana&#x27;s Tswana language. It could be cut into smaller gems for jewelry or left whole in a private collection.

British jeweler Graff said Tuesday it has purchased the world's largest uncut diamond –roughly the size of a tennis ball –for $53 million (44.5 million euros).

British jeweler Graff said Tuesday it has purchased the world's largest uncut diamond –roughly the size of a tennis ball –for $53 million (44.5 million euros).