ML-Implode News - Biggest Diamond in More Than Century Fails to Sell in London

The 1,109-carat diamond that's called Lesedi la Rona,Â or "our light" in the Tswana language spoken in Botswana, was expected to sell for about $86 million, based on a diamond sale in May. That would have made it the most expensive rough gem on record. Instead, the highest bid of $61 million didn't clear the so-called "reserve price" at a Sotheby's auctionÂ on Wednesday night, leaving it unsold.
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The Lesedi la Rona, just smaller than a tennis ball, is second in size only to the Cullinan, a 3,106-carat gem found near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905. It was cut to form the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, which are set in the Crown Jewels of Britain.
The world's biggest and rarest diamonds had proven more resilient than smaller rough stones -- what mined gems are called before they're cut and polished. Prices for rough diamonds slumped 18 percent last year, the most since the financial crisis in 2008, amid lower demand and an industrywide credit crunch.
The diamond auction took place during a week of contemporary art sales in the U.K. On Tuesday, Sotheby's sold 52.2 million pounds ($70 million) of art as Asian and U.S. collectors went shopping, taking advantage of the drop in sterling after Britain voted to exit the European Union.

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Biggest Diamond in More Than Century Fails to Sell in London