This summer, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off the largest diamond discovered in over a century. The Lesedi la Rona diamond, meaning “Our Light” in Tswana, was uncovered in Canada's Lucara Diamond Corporation mine in Botswana late last year. The rough stone is estimated to be over three billion years old and measures at 1,109 carats with exceptional transparency. On June 29, the stone will auctioned in London, with an estimated selling price of over $70 million.
The Lesedi la Rona is one of the largest diamonds ever found, coming second to the Cullinan Diamond, found in 1905, which measured at a jaw dropping 3,106.75 carats. Unlike the Cullinan diamond, which was cut into nine stones and housed with the British Crown Jewels, the newly discovered stone could potentially yield the largest diamond ever cut and polished. The Lesedi la Rona could also break the record for most expensive diamond ever sold, currently held by the $48.47 million Blue Moon of Josephine purchased last year.
