King Letsie III of Lesotho (L) meeting AWDC President Fischler and AWDC CEO Epstein

(IDEX Online News) – King Letsie III of Lesotho paid a visit to the Antwerp diamond sector on April 25.

 

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said the visit illustrated the high level trade relationship that Antwerp and the land-locked southern African diamond producer have enjoyed over the past several decades.

 

In 2011, Antwerp imported most of Lesotho's total rough diamond production in value terms at $352 million for 114,525 carats.

 

Despite its relatively low output, Lesotho has produced some exceptional diamonds. The Letseng mine has produced four out of the 20 largest white diamonds ever found, including the Lesotho Promise discovered in 2006.

 

The largest diamond mined in century, the 603-carat rough diamond was sold and cut and polished in Antwerp, resulting in a 224-carat necklace consisting of 26 diamonds, yielding a perfect set of Flawless D color diamonds.

 

AWDC CEO Ari Epstein said that 96.2 percent of rough diamonds from Lesotho are sold in Antwerp.

 

In addition, since the opening of the Antwerp Diamond Tender Facility in October 2012, half of the goods put up for sale were from Lesotho.

 

During his four-day visit, King Letsie was given a comprehensive visit behind the scenes of the Antwerp diamond district, including a visit to the HRD diamond lab, the Diamond Office, Gem Diamonds’ offices and the Antwerp Diamond Tender Facility.

 

Last week, First Element tendered goods from the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho.