DiamondGirlHH
Shiny_Rock
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- Feb 14, 2008
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A nearly 500-carat rough diamond recovered from a mine in Africa earlier this year made its public debut—and received its official name—during a press conference on Saturday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The stone, a massive 478-carat rock from the Letseng Mine in the African kingdom of Lesotho, is now known as "Leseli la Letseng," which means, "she is the light of Letseng."
During the press conference, Tusetso Sello-Mafatle, the government-appointed director of Letseng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd., a 30-70 percent partnership between the government of Lesotho and Gem Diamonds, said the diamond is a symbol of Lesotho''s economic potential, and she hopes it will go a long way in promoting the country.
"She marks the power, the flawlessness of the diamonds from Letseng," Sello-Mafatle said of the stone.
When polished, Leseli la Letseng has the potential to produce a round diamond of about 150 carats, making it the largest polished round diamond in the world, dwarfing the current largest, which weighs in at about 100 carats, according to Clifford Elphick, chairman of Letseng Diamonds.
The stone is the 20th largest rough diamond ever recovered and is flawless, Elphick said, as far as they can tell at this point.
He said choosing to unveil the stone in Dubai was an easy decision for the company, given the high concentration of wealth in this region of the world and Dubai''s growing presence in the diamond industry.
"Why Dubai?" Elphick said. "I think it speaks for itself. It''s quite obvious."
Just last month, a buyer from Dubai, Amer Radwan of Radwan Diamond and Jewelry Trading, shelled out $4.11 million for the 102.11-carat and 70.87-carat Ponahalo Diamonds at a Christie''s auction held in New York City.
Saturday''s press conference was held at Dubai''s super-posh Atlantis Hotel, in luxe meeting space surrounded on one side by the hotel''s giant aquarium, a fitting backdrop for the unveiling of such a stone.
Following the press conference, potential buyers viewed the stone in Dubai.
The diamond unveiling was part of the inaugural Middle East-China Diamond and Jewellery Summit, hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Nov. 8 and 9.
The conference brought together leaders from China and the Middle East, touted as the "new titans of the jewelry world" on conference materials, to discuss how these two growing regions of the world can better work together in the future.
Highlights of the conference included:
—Diamond Trading Co. Managing Director Varda Shine discussed the new advertising campaign being rolled out over the holiday season in the United States, which plays on consumers'' desire for "fewer, better things."
—Peter Meeus, executive director of diamonds for the DMCC, announced that the DMCC''s one-year-old International Diamond Laboratories (IDL) is expanding, opening up new branches in Florence, Italy, and in Saudi Arabia.
—The DMCC conducted tours of its new Almas Tower, a vertical version of Antwerp, Belgium''s diamond district that just welcomed its first tenants. It''s expected to house more than 350 diamond companies within the next few months. The Almas Tower is part of the DMCC''s massive 79-tower Jumeirah Lake Towers development.
—Longtime industry figure Chaim Even-Zohar, giving a lecture on "How to Cope with Phenomenal Growth," predicted "headaches" for the coming year in the diamond industry and said those wanting to tap into the growth in the industry need to look into higher-quality stones of one carat or more.
"Here''s where the value is," he said. "Here''s where the future growth is."
http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/diamonds/e3ie4d7c4b405f7c5fc22695265c2035f75
The stone, a massive 478-carat rock from the Letseng Mine in the African kingdom of Lesotho, is now known as "Leseli la Letseng," which means, "she is the light of Letseng."
During the press conference, Tusetso Sello-Mafatle, the government-appointed director of Letseng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd., a 30-70 percent partnership between the government of Lesotho and Gem Diamonds, said the diamond is a symbol of Lesotho''s economic potential, and she hopes it will go a long way in promoting the country.
"She marks the power, the flawlessness of the diamonds from Letseng," Sello-Mafatle said of the stone.
When polished, Leseli la Letseng has the potential to produce a round diamond of about 150 carats, making it the largest polished round diamond in the world, dwarfing the current largest, which weighs in at about 100 carats, according to Clifford Elphick, chairman of Letseng Diamonds.
The stone is the 20th largest rough diamond ever recovered and is flawless, Elphick said, as far as they can tell at this point.
He said choosing to unveil the stone in Dubai was an easy decision for the company, given the high concentration of wealth in this region of the world and Dubai''s growing presence in the diamond industry.
"Why Dubai?" Elphick said. "I think it speaks for itself. It''s quite obvious."
Just last month, a buyer from Dubai, Amer Radwan of Radwan Diamond and Jewelry Trading, shelled out $4.11 million for the 102.11-carat and 70.87-carat Ponahalo Diamonds at a Christie''s auction held in New York City.
Saturday''s press conference was held at Dubai''s super-posh Atlantis Hotel, in luxe meeting space surrounded on one side by the hotel''s giant aquarium, a fitting backdrop for the unveiling of such a stone.
Following the press conference, potential buyers viewed the stone in Dubai.
The diamond unveiling was part of the inaugural Middle East-China Diamond and Jewellery Summit, hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Nov. 8 and 9.
The conference brought together leaders from China and the Middle East, touted as the "new titans of the jewelry world" on conference materials, to discuss how these two growing regions of the world can better work together in the future.
Highlights of the conference included:
—Diamond Trading Co. Managing Director Varda Shine discussed the new advertising campaign being rolled out over the holiday season in the United States, which plays on consumers'' desire for "fewer, better things."
—Peter Meeus, executive director of diamonds for the DMCC, announced that the DMCC''s one-year-old International Diamond Laboratories (IDL) is expanding, opening up new branches in Florence, Italy, and in Saudi Arabia.
—The DMCC conducted tours of its new Almas Tower, a vertical version of Antwerp, Belgium''s diamond district that just welcomed its first tenants. It''s expected to house more than 350 diamond companies within the next few months. The Almas Tower is part of the DMCC''s massive 79-tower Jumeirah Lake Towers development.
—Longtime industry figure Chaim Even-Zohar, giving a lecture on "How to Cope with Phenomenal Growth," predicted "headaches" for the coming year in the diamond industry and said those wanting to tap into the growth in the industry need to look into higher-quality stones of one carat or more.
"Here''s where the value is," he said. "Here''s where the future growth is."
http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/diamonds/e3ie4d7c4b405f7c5fc22695265c2035f75
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