Massive uncut diamond sold for $12M

ANTWERP, Belgium, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- South African Diamond Corp. paid $12 million to buy the world's 15th-largest diamond, a 4.2-ounce gem called the Lesotho Promise.

Found in August, the uncut 603-carat white gem is about the size of a golf ball and was found in the Letseng mine in Lesotho, the BBC reported Monday. That mine is jointly owned by the Lesotho government and Gem Diamond Mining Co. of Africa.

The diamond, which was sold in Antwerp, Belgium, will be cut into one large and several smaller stones, South African Diamond said.

The largest diamond is the Cullinan, found in 1905 in South Africa, which weighted 3,106 carats. Jewelers used it to cut the 530-carat Star of Africa, which forms part of the British crown jewels displayed in the Tower of London.

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