Graff Diamonds has showcased the first of more than 60 diamonds it plans to polish from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona rough stone it bought last year.
Each diamond will have D color and “exceptional” clarity, Graff said Monday. The company’s gemologists and craftsmen spent more than a year analyzing the rough stone, which it bought from Lucara Diamond Corp. for $53 million in September 2017.
The polished diamonds will range from under a carat to more than 100 carats, mounted as solitaire rings, earrings and pendants, it said. All of the diamonds will carry a grading report from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and will have a laser inscription of the words “Graff” and “Lesedi La Rona” alongside the GIA number.
“Destined to be passed down through generations, the legacy of the Lesedi La Rona will live on in this truly remarkable collection of jewels,” Graff said.
The Lesedi La Rona was the second-largest rough diamond in history after the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond. Lucara unearthed it in November 2016 at its Karowe mine in Botswana.
Source – Rapaport
