The diamond miner announced in February 2019 that it recovered a high-quality 13.33-carat Type I pink diamond, pictured here, from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho.
It is the first stone of significance (weighing more than 10.8 carats) Gem Diamonds has reported finding so far in 2019.
Pink diamonds have been selling for premium prices as of late, especially as the auction market drives prices upward. In fact, it was a 4.06-carat pink that achieved Gem Diamonds’ highest per-carat price last year, selling for $64,067 per carat.
The unearthing of the 13.33-carat pink is just the latest in a number of exceptional rough diamond recoveries for Gem Diamonds.
Gem Diamonds has sold the remarkable stone at a tender in Antwerp for $8,750,360, or roughly $656,933 per carat, to Luxury jeweler Graff Diamonds.
The purchase comes amid a depletion of the world’s pink-diamond resources, as the mines that produce them become extinct, Graff explained.
“This is the most vivid pink rough diamond I have ever seen, and it is an exceptionally rare treasure,” said Graff founder Laurence Graff. “I am sure the polished diamond that comes from this rough will be an auspicious addition to our roll call of famous gems.”