The diamond named the Light of Letseng has been sold for a whopping $18.4 million by the company Gem Diamonds Ltd and the kingdom of Lesotho to the UK based Graff Diamonds. The diamond is 478 carat and is the 20th largest rough diamond recovered. The diamond was sold at an extraordinary price of $38,400 per carat as compared to the global average of $90 per carat.
The manufacturing department of Graff Diamonds outbid six other bids by eminent diamantine before winning the Leseli la Letseng or the Light of Letseng at Antwerp, Belgium. The stone is said to possess outstanding color and clarity. It is the most valuable of the rough diamonds sold so far. The coveted diamond was recovered a mine in Lesotho which is under the control of Letseng diamonds (a 30-70 partnership between Lesotho government and Gem Diamonds).
Among the worlds 20 rough diamonds, four have been recovered from Letseng mines. Of these, three including the Light of Letseng were bought by Graff Diamonds whose chairman Laurence Graff holds an 8.2% stake in Gem Diamonds. The stones, Lesotho Promise (603 carat), Letseng Legacy (478 carat) were the ones sold to Graff diamonds prior to Light of Letseng. The company claims to utilize their premium knowledge and expertise in producing a beautiful polished diamond of minimum 200 carats. The large rough diamond was sent to Antwerp where it was examined and determined that it was a type II D color diamond, had no visible inclusions and possessed outstanding clarity. It could become the largest flawless D color polished diamonds in history after refinement.
Clifford Elphick, CEO of Gem Diamonds called the Light of Letseng as a very significant diamond recovered and its sale as a testament to the value of the diamonds the mine produces. The trying times faced by the world have not deterred the price of this stone and it has been recognized and valued for its outstanding quality as it rightly deserves. Gem Diamonds is a global diamond company and has wide spread operations taking place in Angola, Austria, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Lesotho and Indonesia. The company was established in 2005.
Letseng has been placed in the forefront among the diamond producing countries. The mines here have yielded precious stones one after another and these were found to possess outstanding quality and of rare occurrence elsewhere.