Ten
Million dollars Diamond sold in Antwerp to Graff's company Safdico
The
Letseng Legacy, uncut diamond 493ct -100gr. was
sold at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre
(AWDC) for more than 10,4 million dollars.
The offers came from 11 bidders willing to cut this stone.
It was sold to Safdico a Souh African Diamond corporation located in Antwerp,
New york, and Johannesburg.
By
Avi Krawitz 11/14/07
found at RAPAPORT...
The
world’s 18th largest mined diamond, the Letseng Legacy, went to Graff for
$10.4 million, mining company Gem Diamonds said Wednesday (November 14,
2007.)
Graff and manufacturing partner SAFDICO beat out 10 other diamantaires
bidding for the 493-carat stone. The purchase follows their previous
Letseng scoop when they bought the 603-carat Lesotho Promise for $12.36
million in October 2006.
“We are very pleased to have once again made the winning bid for such an
historic diamond,” said Johnny Kneller, chief executive officer of SAFDICO.
“To have acquired the Letseng Legacy as well as the Lesotho Promise is a
great achievement for SAFDICO and Mr. Graff.”
Gem Diamonds recovered the “Letseng Legacy” in September 2007 at its
Letseng le Terai Mine, which has produced three of the world’s 20 largest
diamonds. Gem owns 70 percent of the mine in partnership with the Lesotho
government.
“The sale of the Letseng Legacy at this impressive price is a reflection
of the rarity of the remarkable diamonds that the Letseng Mine is
producing," said Clifford Elphick, CEO of Gem Diamonds. “The market
for extraordinary diamonds continues to grow which bodes well for Letseng´s
success as production doubles during the course of 2008.”
Lesotho’s minister of Forestry and Land Reclamation, Ralechate Lincon
Mokose, announced the winning bid at a ceremony on Wednesday at the Antwerp
World Diamond Centre.
Also in attendance were Gem Diamonds management and directors, the Lesotho
Ambassadors to Belgium and Germany, MaMoruti Tiheli and Makase Nyaphisi,
SAFDICO’s Johnny Kneller of the winning bidder SAFDICO and leading figures
from the Antwerp diamond community.
The night before this auction, Laurence Graff snapped-up several items from
Christie's New York. The famed London jeweler bought several
classic images by Andy Warhol and Basquiat. Graff bought ''Elvis
2 Times,'' a 1963 Warhol image, for $15.7 million and a 1982 painting titled
''Sugar Ray Robinson,'' by Basquiat for $7.3 million (both prices
include premium.)
Diamant
voor 10 miljoen dollar verkocht in Antwerpen
ANTWERPEN (De standaard Nov.14, 2007) - De Letseng Legacy, een
uitzonderlijke ruwe diamant van 493 karaat en een gewicht van zowat 100 gram, is
in de lokalen van het Antwerp World Diamond Centre
(AWDC) verkocht voor meer dan
10,4 miljoen dollar. Elf gespecialiseerde diamantslijperijen brachten hun
hoogste bod in een enveloppe over, waarna de steen voor bewerking aan de
hoogstbiedende werd toegewezen.
De grote diamantfirma Safdico (South African Diamond
Corporation) werd met de
tenderprocedure woensdag de nieuwe eigenaar van de op zeventien na grootste ruwe
diamant ter wereld, die op 7 september 2007 werd ontgonnen in de Letsengmijn in
het Afrikaanse Lesotho. De firma is hoofdzakelijk actief in Antwerpen en New
York, maar heeft ook vestigingen in onder meer Johannesburg. (DWM)
BELGA
