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Why the world's second largest uncut diamond is not getting sold

  • Canada's Lucara Diamond corporation is not able to sell its 1,109 carat diamond because its uncut.
  • Industry insiders say the company must cut it in order to sell it.
  • It was auctioned at $61 million by Sothebys but experts claim that the diamond will never be sold at that price.
why the worlds second largest diamond is not getting sold

When does a diamond not attract any buyers? According to experts, this occurs when a diamond is more than 1,000 carats and is uncut. This is the reason why Canada's Lucara Diamond Corporation isn't able to sell the world's second largest rough diamond. This precious stone, which is the size of a tennis ball, lies in the company's possession and is named Lesedi La Rona or Our Light in the Botswana language where it was mined.

Lucara's chief executive William Lamb didn't hope the diamond would not get sold in an auction but he doesn't believe that the stone should be cut or polished. "It's only the second stone recovered in the history of humanity over 1,000 carats. Why would you want to polish it? The stone in the rough form contains untold potential...As soon as you polish it into one solution, everything else is gone," Reuters quoted him as saying.

Lamb had assumed that the 2.5 to 3 billion year old stone would get sold for $61 million during an auction at Sothebys but he was mistaken. Experts in the diamond business say the reason why people aren't buying the diamonds are varied. Much of this reflects the different trends in the industry.

The diamond industry doesn't have spot market trading, no guarantee that rough diamonds will yield profits, and bigger stones come with their own complications. Expert Edahn Golan, of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data told Reuters that its better to wait for a few years now that people know the price of the diamond. Even though Blake is in no hurry to sell the stone, the company's investors aren't.

Lucara's stocks are down by 30 per cent and the company will have to find a way to sell the diamond. The Reuters article claimed Lucara could partner with one other diamond company or a consortium of them. Oded Mansori, Managing Director of RHD said, "Maybe next week, there will be a larger stone."

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