Discover the 1109-ct Lesedi la Rona, the largest rough diamond discovered in 100 years https://t.co/7BLeO1uQHapic.twitter.com/RBFrIAGzEG
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 4, 2016
Attention gem collectors and heist planners: the second largest diamond ever found, the Lesedi La Rona, is set to go on auction at Sotheby’s London in June. It’s about the size of a tennis ball, and worth about 45,000 times more than a diamond tennis bracelet.
Found in November in a Botswana mine, the massive diamond weighs 1,109 carats, which is still less than the largest diamond ever discovered, the Cullinan Diamond, found in 1905, which was over three-times as large. Lucara Diamond, which found the latest huge gemstone, voted on its name, which, in Tswana, a common language in Botswana, translates to “Our Light.”
The diamond is still in its rough and uncut state, but it is expected to be cut up into gems after purchase. The purchase itself could also end up being record-breaking as well. According to the Associated Press, the chairman of Sotheby’s jewel division has called the diamond “the find of a lifetime,” and the auction house expects the Lesedi La Rona to sell for upwards of $70 million, which would make it the most expensive diamond ever sold.
The auction is set to take place June 29, and while it’s unclear who will purchase the rock or what will become of it (the Cullinan Diamond was turned into the British crown jewels), as a Sotheby’s promotional video says, “Imagine the Possibility.”