Sierra Leone adjusts expectations, sells enormous Peace Diamond on second attempt
The entire $6.5m fetched will go to the government for development projects, which Rapaport Group says is a first
New York — Sierra Leone sold one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds for $6.5m at a New York auction on Monday to raise funds for development projects in the West African country. The egg-sized gem — known as the Peace Diamond — was bought by British luxury jeweller Laurence Graff, said Martin Rapaport, chairman of Rapaport Group, a network of diamond companies that managed the auction. "One hundred percent of the value of this diamond, of the auction sale of this diamond, is going to go to the government and the people of Sierra Leone. Never before has this happened," Rapaport told reporters. The gem was unearthed in March in Sierra Leone’s eastern Kono region by a Christian pastor, who gave it to the government to handle the sale. It was the government’s second attempt to sell the diamond after it rejected the highest bid of $7.8m at an initial auction in the capital Freetown in May. Ahead of Monday’s auction the diamond was shown to about 70 potential buyers and received seven ...
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