Sunday Times 2
World’s most expensive diamond unearthed in South African mine
A blue diamond weighing a staggering 122.52 carats has been unearthed in South Africa – expected to be the most valuable ever found.
Petra Diamonds Ltd said it had recovered the ‘exceptional’ gem at its Cullinan mine, on the outskirts of Pretoria, just months after it sold a 29.6 carat blue diamond from the same mine for more than £14 million ($25 million).
The jewel – which is about the size of a strawberry – is so pure that it is expected to eclipse the current world’s most expensive diamond – a 507-carat white diamond dug from the same mine that sold for £20 million in 2010. Blue diamonds are considerably more valuable than their white cousins.
Sparkler: The jewel, about the size of a strawberry (pictured), is so pure that it is expected to eclipse the current world's most expensive diamond - a 507-carat white diamond dug from the same mine that sold for £20 million in 2010
‘The rarity of a blue diamond of this magnitude sets it apart as a truly significant find,’ the company said in a statement.
Shares in the diamond miner rose almost 7 percent to a year high in early trading, making them the top percentage gainers on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index.
Petra, which acquired the famed diamond mine in 2008, said it would evaluate the optimal route to market the stone after a further analysis to assess its potential value.
‘So far, the highest price on record paid for a rough diamond was £20 million ($35.3 million), paid in February 2010 for a 507 carat white stone, also recovered from Cullinan. We think that this stone may break that record,’ finnCap analyst Martin Potts said.
The Cullinan mine boasts the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered, the 1905 Cullinan Diamond, which was cut into two stones that are part of Britain’s Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London.
© Daily Mail, London