232 Carat Diamond Unearthed In South Africa May Sell For Up To $20 Million!


A 232 carat diamond has been unearthed at the Cullinan Diamond mine in South Africa, reports Bloomberg. The mine, which is under the ownership of Petra Diamonds Ltd., has, in the past, also unearthed large and famous diamonds – the most famous being the 3106 carat Cullinan diamond found there in the year 1905. The newest 232 carat diamond, which is yet to be named, could fetch as much as $20 million according to a press note issued by BMO Capital Markets.

According to BMO analyst Ed Sterck, the final price of precious stones like these depends on their color, cut, clarity and even the amount of diamonds that could be made out of them. He said a price between $15 million and $20 million would be expected for a stone of this size. NBC News cites a report by Reuters and has indicated that the newly found 232 carat diamond could sell for $16 million.

Following the news of the discovery of the diamond, the shares of Petra rose by 7 percent on the London Stock Exchange.

While this is certainly not the biggest diamond that has been found from the Cullinan mine, this 232 carat diamond certainly takes the cake for the biggest diamond to have been found this year. Apart from the aforementioned Cullinan diamond, another diamond weighing 507 carats was discovered a few years ago from the same mine. It was sold for a staggering $35.3 million back in 2009!

The Cullinan diamond was cut to produce two of the diamonds set in the Crown Jewels of Britain – the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa. Also famous for being a source of blue diamonds, the Cullinan mine has, in the recent past, managed to unearth a 122.5-carat blue diamond. In fact, a 29.6-carat gem of that variety sold for a staggering $25.6 million earlier this year.

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