Graff's Newest Acquisition Is A 373-Carat Rough Diamond

Graff Diamonds has acquired a 373.72-carat rough diamond that was once part of the Lesedi la Rona, the second largest gem quality diamond ever discovered. 

The icy gem measures 48mm x 41mm x 22mm and is classified as D color—meaning that the diamond is colorless, the highest color grade—and Type IIa—considered the purest type of diamond. It is estimated to be approximately 3 billion years old and was likely formed when the earth was still being created.

The luxury jeweler said Tuesday the rough gem has the potential to yield “a significant polished stone.”

“Every diamond has an inner script that we must read and respect,” Laurence Graff, founder of the London-based high jewelry brand, said in a statement. “We will now spend time discovering the secrets of this magnificent stone. Knowing that nature has given us this extraordinary gift, we take on the great responsibility of releasing its inner beauty.”

The diamond was unearthed at the Karowe mine in Botswana and was once attached to the Lesedi la Rona, the second largest gem quality diamond ever discovered and the largest in more than a century. Graff said it was separated from its famous sibling during the recovery process. 

The 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona was unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp., a Canadian diamond mining company, in November 2015. 

The auction house, Sotheby’s, placed the Lesedi la Rona in a stand-alone auction in London in June, 2016, with an estimate of more than $70 million. The diamond failed to sell. 

The public sale, which the auction house described as “unprecedented” for a rough stone, turned out to be quite controversial among the few diamantaires with the means to purchase such large diamonds, according to this story in Vanity Fair. One of the persons quoted as being against the auction was none other than Laurence Graff. 

“It’s not nice,” Graff reportedly said. “We don’t like it, what they’re doing. It’s just not how it’s done. We don’t want to have to expose ourselves in public [at an auction]. To contend in the open arena, we find it undesirable.” 

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$70 Million Auction Estimate For 1,100-Carat Rough Diamond

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

Using over-exuberant superlatives is commonplace among international auction houses but the item that Sotheby’s will be auctioning in London on June 29 may defy ordinary words.

Calling it “one of the greatest finds of the century,” the auction house is offering a 1,109-carat rough diamond in a standalone auction. Is it hyperbole? Not likely. It is the largest gem-quality rough diamond to be discovered in more than a century and the largest rough diamond in existence today, the auction house said.

Named the “Lesedi la Rona,” it is estimated to sell for more than $70 million.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

The gem was unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp., a Canadian diamond mining company, in November 2015, at its Karowe mine in Botswana. Described as being about the size of a tennis ball (measuring approximately 66.4 x 55 x 42 mm), this rough diamond of “exceptional transparency and quality” is around 2.5 to more than 3 billion years old, the auction house said.

Sotheby’s said it has been more than 100 years since a diamond of this size and quality of the Lesedi La Rona has been found. Its size is exceeded only by the legendary Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905. The 3,016.75-carat diamond produced nine major diamonds that are part of the historic Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, including the Great Star of Africa—considered to be the largest top-quality polished diamond in existence, weighing 530.20 carats.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

According to Sotheby’s, the Gemological Institute of America said the Lesedi La Rona’s “top color and transparency has the ‘limpid’ appearance commonly associated with type IIa diamonds,” which accounts for fewer than 2 percent of all gem-quality diamonds. They are considered “the most chemically pure and often show extraordinary optical transparency,” according to the GIA.

Sotheby’s adds that, according to independent reports, it has the potential to yield the largest top-quality diamond that has ever been cut and polished with an additional “high probability” that the resulting polished diamonds will be “D” color—the highest color classification for white diamonds.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

“The Lesedi la Rona is simply outstanding and its discovery is the find of a lifetime,” said David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division. “Every aspect of this auction is unprecedented. Not only is the rough superlative in size and quality, but no rough even remotely of this scale has ever been offered before at public auction.”

“We are very excited to be partnering with Sotheby’s on this landmark auction,” added William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp., “The forthcoming sale presents a unique opportunity to present this extraordinary diamond to a worldwide audience.”

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

The Lesedi la Rona will be on view at Sotheby’s New York on May 7 and at Sotheby’s London from June 18 - 28.

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Anglo American Receives Regulatory Approval for De Beers Acquisition

London-based mining giant Anglo American said Friday that it has received final regulatory approval to acquire the Oppenheimer family’s 40 percent stake in the De Beers Group.

“Now that all the conditions to the transaction have been satisfied, a formal pre-emption offer will be served by CHL Holdings Limited (representing the Oppenheimer family interests) on Anglo American and the Government of the Republic of Botswana under the terms of the De Beers Shareholders' Agreement,” Anglo-American said in a statement Friday.

The Oppenheimer family, which has owned the De Beers Group for more than 80 years, announced in November that it will sell its remaining 40 percent stake in the diversified diamond company to Anglo American plc for $5.1 billion in cash. Consent under Section 11 of the South African Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 2002 was the final approval required for this transaction to proceed.

The pending acquisition means that Anglo American will increase its current 45 percent shareholding in the world's largest diamond company to up to 85 percent, subject to adjustment as provided for in the agreement. In January 2012, the transaction was approved by Anglo American shareholders, with 99.94 percent voting in favor.

The Government of the Republic of Botswana, which currently owns a 15 percent stake in De Beers has the opportunity to participate in the transaction and increase its interest in De Beers, on a pro rata basis, to up to 25 percent.

In the event that the GRB exercises its pre-emption rights in full, Anglo American will acquire an incremental 30 percent interest in De Beers, taking its total interest to 75 percent, and the consideration payable by Anglo American would be reduced proportionately.

Anglo American expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2012, in line with its previously stated timeline.

De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea. Mining takes place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. The company’s subsidiaries also include the Diamond Trading Company, the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the company, the Forevermark diamond brand and De Beers Diamond Jewellers, a luxury joint-retail operation with LVMH-Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Anglo-American is one of the world’s largest mining companies with a portfolio that includes iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals – copper and nickel; and precious metals and minerals – in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds. The company operates in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia.

GIA to Hold Classes in Botswana

The Gemological Institute of America will offer Diamond Grading Lab classes in Gaborone, Botswana, in April and September 2011. The classes will offer a practical, hands-on approach to learning, and are designed to help Botswana increase local employment and enhance career development within its diamond production industry.

The classes teach students to grade diamonds in the D-Z color range, including how to detect synthetics, treatments, simulants and fracture-filled diamonds. Students also learn how to use the GIA International Diamond Grading System and the 4Cs (Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat weight).

The classes are five days in length and will be offered at the GIA Botswana campus in Gaborone. Students can choose from four sessions: April 11-15, April 18-22, Sept. 12-16 and Sept. 19-23.

GIA Education programs offered in Botswana are accredited by the Government of Botswana. The education reimbursement initiative was determined by the Botswana Training Authority, a regulatory body of the government that coordinates and monitors training provided by vocational training institutions.