Petra Diamonds Ltd. announced that a 507-carat piece of rough unearthed at its Cullinan mine last year sold for around $40 miilion, the highest sale price ever achieved for a rough diamond.
Hong Kong based jeweller, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, purchased the stone. The company paid a price per carat more than twice that which a smaller stone would fetch.
The flawless, white-coloured Cullinan Heritage Diamond is the 19th largest piece of rough unearthed in history and was discovered in South Africa in September 2009 by Petra Diamonds Ltd at its Cullinan mine, east of Pretoria.
The Cullinan mine was formerly owned by De Beers.
In a statement at the time, Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Cullinan mine has again given the world a spectacularly beautiful and important diamond. Initial indications are that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, which suggest extraordinary potential for its polished yield. We now eagerly await the findings of the expert analysis."
The Cullinan mine is best known for the discovery of the largest ever diamond, the
Cullinan 1-9, which weighed-in at a whopping 3,106 carats.
Dippenaar told the Sydney Morning Herald, ''It (the rough) has the potential to produce one of the world's most important polished gems.”
The sale is also significant because it highlights the emergence of China as a powerful leader in the jewellery market.
Chinese demand is believed to be one of the main reasons diamond prices have recovered more than 70 per cent of their value since early last year.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery has not announced plans for the diamond, or whether it will be cut into smaller stones.
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