'Lesedi la Rona', World's Largest Diamond, to Go on Auction

LONDON – "Lesedi la Rona", the world's largest gem-quality rough diamond discovered in more than 100 years, goes on display in London this week before it heads for the auction block where it is expected to fetch more than $70 million. The 1,109-carat diamond, shown to British media on Tuesday, was uncovered last November in Botswana by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp.

The gem, whose name translates as "Our Light" in Botswana's SeTswana language, is believed to be between 2.5 billion to more than three billion years old. Auction house Sotheby's previously displayed it in New York. It will be auctioned on June 29.

The diamond has been named “Lesedi La Rona” which means Our Light. The winner of the competition is Thembani Moitlhobogi who will receive a prize of 25,000 Pula.

On January 18, 2016 the Company launched a competition to name this spectacular Type IIa diamond, the biggest diamond ever recovered in Botswana and the second largest ever found in the world.

The competition was open to all Botswana citizens including the Company’s Batswana employees. Entrants were invited to submit their suggested name and their rationale for their choice.

More than 11,000 entries were received. To ensure transparency and independence during the name selection process, the audit firm of Ernst & Young were retained to oversee the competition.

The judging panel consisted of a total of five executives from both Lucara and the Karowe mine. Entries were submitted to the judging panel on an anonymous basis with Ernst & Young retrieving the winner’s name after the panel had selected the winning name for the diamond.

William Lamb, CEO and President commented, “The outpouring of pride and patriotism shown by all the participants in the contest was incredible. The diamond industry has played a vital role in the country’s development, allowing for significant and ongoing investment in world-class healthcare, education and infrastructure. “Lesedi La Rona” symbolizes the pride and history of the people of Botswana.”