The Lesedi La Rona is a tennis-ball-sized, 1,109 carat rough cut diamond–the second largest rough cut diamond ever known. Now owned by Graff Diamonds, Lesedi La Rona—literally ‘our light’ in Tswana language—was discovered two years ago in the Karowe mine of Botswana by Vancouver based Lucara Diamond Corp. The gem was put up for auction at Sotheby’s last year but it failed to fetch even half the estimated price of $70 million. Thereafter, Lucara Diamond Corp sold it for $53 million in a private sale to Graff Diamonds. Laurence Graff, founder of Graff Diamonds, reportedy claimed that being the ‘custodian’ of the extravagant stone was the highlight of his career.
