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SourcingMar 17, 2016
Lucara in ‘No Rush’ with its 1,111-Carat Find
The huge rough diamond, which was discovered last month at a mine in Botswana, still is in the process of being evaluated.
New York--It took the Asschers more than six months of study before they figured out where exactly to strike the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond.
So it makes sense that even in this era of instant gratification and nonstop news updates, Lucara is taking its time with the 1,111-carat diamond it recovered from the Karowe Mine in Botswana a little more than two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, Lamb told National Jeweler that the $60 million figure is an estimate from analysts that is based on the 342-carat diamond Lucara sold in July for $20.5 million, or about $60,000 a carat.
If the 1,111-carat diamond fetched the same per-carat price it would go for $66.7 million, but Lamb said he doesn’t think the two stones are comparable--the 1,111-carat diamond has more historical significance and, most likely, will yield larger single stones once cleaved.
That, however, remains to be seen.
Lamb said his company still is in the process of evaluating the diamond, which is being kept in an undisclosed location.
Because of its size, the stone has had to go through the cleaning process several times, and they are still working to determine how exactly they are going to analyze it--by sight, by machine or a combination of both.
Until then, Lamb is reticent to give specific estimates on how much they will ask for the diamond or to whom it could be sold. He said many steps still have to be taken before the company reaches the stage where they know exactly what they will do with the stone.
“Everybody thinks we are just going to rush out and put it on tender,” Lamb said. “(But) internally it’s really only been two weeks and we are in no rush to sell the stone.”
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