Lucara's Diamond Sale of a Lifetime

(Rapaport) - In a somewhat underplayed announcement, Lucara Diamond Corporation recently unveiled the most expensive rough diamond ever sold. A short press statement - initially sent without pictures - reported the 812.77-carat stone named ‘The Constellation’ sold for $63.1 million breaking “all records” for a rough diamond. Ordinarily, Lucara would be making a bigger fuss about this eye-popping sale. But the company, along with the diamond and investment communities, knows this was a mere curtain raiser. The record is bound to be smashed when the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s London on June 29. Sotheby’s set a $70 million pre-sale estimate for the stone, which is acknowledged to be the second-largest rough diamond ever recovered. That assessment now looks conservative in light of The Constellation’s record price-tag. But while the potential price will certainly get heads turning, there are other aspects of the sale that are significantly adding to the prospect of the Sotheby’s auction.