Storm Mountain Sells 108-ct Pink to Choron
December 19, 23
(IDEX Online) - Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD)has agreed to sell one of the world's largest pink diamonds, weighing 108.39 carats, to Antwerp-based Choron for an undisclosed price.
The Type IIa gem, recovered in March, is the biggest pink diamond ever at the Kao mine, in Lesotho, and eclipses the 47.81-carat Pink Eternity, which was recovered from the mine last year and which sold for an undisclosed price.
It is almost twice the size of the Pink Star, the 59.6-carat diamond that sold for a record $71.2m in April 2017 to China's biggest jeweler, Chow Tai Fook.
Kao has also yielded the "Pink Dawn" (25.97ct), "Pink Palesa" (21.68ct) in 2021, and the Rose of Kao (29.59ct) in 2018.
"It is a privilege for Choron to unlock the secrets within this remarkable pink diamond and we look forward to revealing the story of this historic diamond," said Anshul Gandhi, the company's CEO.
"Our artisans will meticulously transform this rough diamond into an array of polished diamonds that will be remembered for generations to come."
The Kao kimberlite was discovered in 1956 and is the largest in Lesotho and the fourth largest in Southern Africa.
For many years it was mined by artisans and organized cooperatives. It was bought from the Lesotho government in 2006 by Kao Diamond Mines in 2006 and then by current owners SMD (jointly owned by Namakwa Diamonds Limited and the Lesotho Government) in 2010.
Pic of the pink diamond courtesy SMD.