This 242-Carat Rough Diamond Is Heading to Auction

Moscow—Alrosa is marking its 100th auction of large diamonds with a rare gem indeed—a 242.31-carat chunk of rough that’s expected to sell for millions.

One of the largest gem-quality crystals mined by Alrosa in the last 20 years, the diamond is the centerpiece of the company’s upcoming sale in Dubai.

Alrosa told National Jeweler that it mined the 242-carat stone back in 2009, at the Nyurbinskaya kimberlite pipe in Yakutia. It has been in the miner’s collection ever since and is the most significant stone offered for sale by Alrosa in five years.

Normally, Alrosa cuts and polishes rare finds in-house, as it did with “The Spectacle” collection of natural color diamonds.

This year, the company decided to sell the 242-carat near-colorless diamond alongside two other large chunks of rough to mark its 100th auction of large diamonds. 

It added: “We feel this milestone is especially important as exactly 12 months ago our entire industry faced the toughest call in its history,” referring to the decisions that had to be made around mining and production as COVID-19 swept the globe. 

The 242-carat diamond is described as near colorless with a “minor” yellowish-greenish tone.

Alrosa experts noted that because of the diamond’s proportions and the distribution of inclusions, the rough lends itself to an oval-shaped diamond that could be, William Goldberg President Saul Goldberg estimated, 70 to 80 carats in size and sell for as much as $8 million. 

“It’s not often that a colorless 242-carat piece of rough comes up for auction,” Goldberg said in a statement shared via email with National Jeweler. 

“Without actually holding the rough in my hands and not knowing what shape it will be, it’s hard to know the exact value. However … with the current market for large diamonds being very strong, it could be worth up to $8 million. Large diamonds are selling for high prices today. People want big, beautiful diamonds, and it gets people very excited.” 

Alrosa said the opening price on the stone is $8,900 per carat, which is about $2.2 million.