LIST
OVER THE LAST two months , two rough diamonds have accumulated over $ 100million in sales . Lucara Diamonds sold its 813 carat ‘ Constellation ’ diamond for a record $ 63.1 million , while the 1,109 carat Lesedi la Rona is expected to smash that record with a predicted $ 70million later this year .
These diamonds are still in rough form , once the they are cut there ’ s no telling how much they could bring . But what are the largest cut diamonds on record ? Here we take a look at the 10 of the world ’ s largest gem cut diamonds .
10
The Millennium Star Diamond 203.04 carat
Discovered in Mbuji-Mayi , Zaire in 1990 , the rough diamond weighed 777 carats . Cut down to 203.04 carats and dubbed the ‘ Millennium Star ’ to coincide with the turning of the millennium , its unveiling was part of De Beers Millennium Diamonds collection . Famously , the diamond was subject to a failed robbery attempt in 2000 . With its true value unknown , the chairman of De Beers Company said of the diamond : “ Millennia come and go , but diamonds are forever .”
9
The Red Cross Diamond 205.07 carat
During an innocuous fund raising sale , on behalf of the British Red Cross Society , a group of diamond specialists presented an enormous 205 carat ‘ canary ’ diamond . To no surprise , the diamond later known as the Red Cross diamond , sold for £ 35,575 . With the exact origins a mystery – it is said to have been discovered in De Beers mine in 1901 weighing close to 375 carats - the diamond has spent the best part of 30 years in and out of the spotlight . Once believed to be owned by a European royal , then turning up in the US sometime later , the diamond recently appeared at a Tokyo auction in 1973 , and Switzerland in 1977 .
22 July 2016