Lesedi La Rona
The largest gem-quality rough diamond to be discovered in over a century and the largest rough diamond in existence today.
Sotheby’s is privileged to announce that it will auction the 1109-carat “Lesedi la Rona” in a stand-alone sale in London on 29 June 2016. Estimated to achieve in excess of $70 million, the Lesedi la Rona (“Our Light” in the Tswana language spoken in Botswana) was uncovered by Lucara Diamond Corp. in November 2015, at their Karowe mine in Botswana.
Around the size of a tennis ball (measuring approximately 66.4 x 55 x 42 mm), this colossal rough diamond of exceptional transparency and quality is around 2.5 to over 3 billion years old. Diamonds have been mined continuously for centuries in multiple locations around the world and yet nothing of the size and quality of Lesedi La Rona has been found in over 100 years.
In terms of its size, the rough is exceeded only by the legendary Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905. The 3016.75-carat Cullinan Diamond produced nine major diamonds that are part of the historic Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, including the Great Star of Africa – currently the largest topquality polished diamond in existence, weighing 530.20 carats.
According to a study by the Gemological Institute of America, the Lesedi La Rona’s “top colour and transparency exemplify the “limpid” appearance commonly associated with type IIa diamonds” – a rare and coveted subgroup which comprises less than 2% of all gem diamonds. Stones in this group are “the most chemically pure and often show extraordinary optical transparency».
