Graff pays $8.75 million for 13.33ct pink rough

The London-based jeweler Lawrence Graff paid an unprecedented $8.75 million for the 13.33 carat pink rough diamond that was found in February of this year by Gem Diamonds in its Letseng mine in Lesotho.

The amount paid by Graff constitutes a record price per carat paid for a diamond from the Letseng mine.

Meanwhile, the Letseng mine has acquired a famed reputation for some of the world’s most exclusive diamonds, among them the Lesotho Promise, the Letseng Legacy and the Letseng Star.

Graff’s is well known for turning very expensive rough diamonds into even more expensive polished stones. Taking in account that there will be a projected loss of no less than 40 percent of the weight of the stone, to turn a decent profit, Graff can be expected to want to sell the polished stone of approx. 8 carats for no less than $12 million…