A 507.5 CARAT GEM DISCOVERED IN SOUTH AFRICA LAST YEAR HAS BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE ROUGH DIAMOND EVER SOLD. HONG KONG'S CHOW TAI FOOK JEWELRY COMPANY BOUGHT THE CULLINAN HERITAGE STONE FOR $35.3 MILLION, PETRA DIAMONDS ANNOUNCED RECENTLY. PETRA RECOVERED THE GEM, THE 19th LARGEST EVER FOUND, DESCRIBED AS THE SIZE OF A CHICKEN'S EGG, FROM ITS CULLINAN MINE NEAR PRETORIA IN SOUTH AFRICA IN SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR. PETRA SAID THAT THE RECORD PRICE REFLECTED THE 'INCREDIBLE RARITY' OF THE STONE BASED ON ITS 'REMARKABLE SIZE' AND 'EXCEPTIONAL COLOUR AND CLARITY'. 'IT IS FITTING THAT THE CULLINAN HERITAGE SHOULD ACHIEVE A SALE PRICE OF $35.3 MILLION, THE HIGHEST SALE PRICE ON RECORD EVER ACHIEVED FOR A ROUGH DIAMOND, AS IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT POLISHED GEMS. THE SALE PROCEEDS FURTHER BOLSTER PETRA'S TREASURY AND WILL BE INVESTED IN THE GROWTH OF OUR CORE ASSETS', SAID JOHAN DIPPENAAR, PETRA'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE. CHOW TAI FOOK HAS YET TO OUTLINE ITS PLANS FOR THE AMAZING STONE. THE WORLD'S LARGEST DIAMOND, THE 3,106 CARAT CULLINAN, WAS DISCOVERED IN THE SAME MINE IN 1905. THAT WAS CUT TO FORM THE GREAT STAR OF AFRICA AND THE LESSER STAR OF AFRICA, SET IN BRITAIN'S CROWN JEWELS. PETRA RECEIVED $9.48 MILLION AT A SALE IN MAY FOR A POLISHED 7.03 CARAT BLUE GEM, ALSO FROM THE CULLINAN MINE, SETTING A PER-CARAT RECORD. A CARAT IS A FIFTH OF A GRAM.
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