Nation & World News

Massive 1,109-carat diamond going up for auction

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 04: Guards stand next to the 1109-carat rough Lesedi La Rona diamond, the biggest rough diamond discovered in more than a century, at Sotheby's on May 04, 2016 in New York City. The stone was found by Lucara Diamond Corp. last year at its Karowe mine in Botswana. The diamond, which is nearly the size of a tennis ball at 66.4 x 55 x 42 mm and is believed to be about 2.5 billion to 3 billion years old, was named "Our Light" in the local Tswana language. Lesedi La Rona will be offered at auction in London on June 29 and be on display at Sotheby's New York. The diamond could sell for $70 million or more. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 04: Guards stand next to the 1109-carat rough Lesedi La Rona diamond, the biggest rough diamond discovered in more than a century, at Sotheby's on May 04, 2016 in New York City. The stone was found by Lucara Diamond Corp. last year at its Karowe mine in Botswana. The diamond, which is nearly the size of a tennis ball at 66.4 x 55 x 42 mm and is believed to be about 2.5 billion to 3 billion years old, was named "Our Light" in the local Tswana language. Lesedi La Rona will be offered at auction in London on June 29 and be on display at Sotheby's New York. The diamond could sell for $70 million or more. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Katherine Biek
May 4, 2016

The biggest gem-quality rough diamond discovered in the past 100 years is going up for auction.

>> Read more trending stories

The diamond was found in a Botswana mine last year. It's called "Lesedi la Rona," which means "our light" in the country's national language.

Sotheby's says the diamond is about the size of a tennis ball, weighing a whopping 1,109 carats.

The only diamond ever found that was larger in size is the Cullinan diamond, which weighed more than 3,000 carats before it was cut down into nine smaller pieces. They were then built into the U.K.'s crown jewels.

But Sotheby's reports, when polished and cut, the Lesedi la Rona diamond could be the largest top-quality diamond ever, surpassing the Great Star of Africa, which weighs 530 carats.

The diamond, which could be as many as 3 billion years old, goes up for auction June 29.

About the Author

Katherine Biek

More Stories