'Lesedi la Rona' too rich to sell
The price for the biggest diamond found in more than 100 years proved too rich for even the deepest wallets at an auction in London. The 1109-carat diamond was found in Botswana. It is called Lesedi la Rona, or "our light" in Tswana.The stone was expected to sell for about $86-million, based on a diamond sale in May. That would have made it the most expensive rough gem on record.Instead, the highest bid of $61-million didn't clear the reserve price at a Sotheby's auction on Wednesday, leaving it unsold."Sotheby's orchestrated a worldwide marketing campaign that garnered huge levels of interest, but the auction just seemed to stall," said Edward Sterck, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets."We would see the potential for a private sale," possibly with an agreement in which [owner] Lucara retains some interest in the upside from the polished stones, said Sterck. ..
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