At the 11th International Kimberlite Conference, a report made by senior research scientists at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) believes the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona — the second largest rough diamond ever found — actually weighed at least 2,774 carats before it fractured into five pieces during the sorting process at Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswana in November 2015.
Report to be find on this link: http://11ikc.com/long_abstract/11IKC%20Long%20Abstracts/11IKC_4611.pdf
Previously, we reported that the 812.77-carat “The Constellation” diamond and the little piece that chiped-off, 373.72-carat are coming from the same rough diamond.
"Due to the similarity in their external characteristics — which include cleavage faces — as well as their extraction locations and dates, it was suspected that these stones might have originated from a larger rough that had broken," Dr. D’Haenens-Johansson wrote in the Fall 2018 issue of Gems & Gemology.
The five pieces totaled 2,774 carats, which is equivalent to 1.22 pounds (.55 kilograms). Had the original survived the recovery process, it would have still rated second behind the largest gem-quality rough diamond of all time — the 3,106-carat Cullinan, unearthed in South Africa in 1905.
Lucara CEO Eira Thomas told that evidence indicates the larger stone broke up both because of natural effects and being knocked around during the recovery process. The mining company has reportedly installed additional X-ray transmission (XRT) technology to ensure exceptional stones are identified and pulled from the line before they can be fractured.
Summary of prices:
1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona : Graff Diamonds, September 2017, 53 Millions USD. ($47,777/ct) 812.77-carat Constellation : De Grisogono, September 2016, 63.1 Millions USD. ($77,649/ct) 373.72-carat stone : Graff Diamonds, May 2017 , 17.5 Millions USD. ($46935/ct) 296.66-carat : Lucara Diamond exceptional stone Tender 4 april 2016, 12.2 Millions USD ($41,088/ct) 183.41-carat: Lucara Diamond exceptional stone Tender 4 april 2016, 8.5 Millions USD ($56,088/ct)
Total weight of 2775.56 carats with total price sold at 154.3 Millions USD.
If it was remaining in one piece, I do think that that 154 Mill, will be too low estimation!