An incredible 232.08-carat white diamond of 'exceptional size and clarity' has been unearthed at a mine in South Africa, with a possible value of £10million. The dazzling D colour Type II diamond was found by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine in South Africa, with four analysts predicting a £10million price tag.
Type II diamonds, which are formed over long periods of time, tend to be large and irregular in shape and have no measurable nitrogen impurities. This means they are often of top quality in terms of colour and clarity.
A spokesman described the newly-found stone as 'a magnificent example of the large, high quality diamonds for which the mine is known.'
The recent find is Petra's largest white diamond since it unearthed the 507-carat Cullinan Heritage in 2009 from the same mine. That rough white diamond was given a 'flawless' clarity grade and fetched $35.3million (£21million), a record price for the company.
'We estimate a sales price in the order of $10million to $15million (£10million), given Gem Diamonds' recent sale of Type II white at about $70,000 per carat and assuming some losses for cutting/polishing,' Numis Securities analysts said in a note.
A company spokesman told Reuters the stone would most likely be snapped up by a buyer from traditional diamond hubs such as the United States, Europe, Israel or China, who could cut the stone into polished gems. 'It's more a case of the clients coming to us, rather than us needing to approach clients,' he said.
The miner, with five producing mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania, sold a 29.6 carat blue diamond to U.S. luxury jeweller Cora International in February for $25.6million.
Photo Credit: Mercury Press/Media SA
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