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Letseng Legacy sells to Safdico for $10.4M

November 15, 2007

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Antwerp, Belgium—The 493-carat "Letseng Legacy," the world's 18th-largest diamond, has sold at auction for $10.4 million.

Gem Diamonds Ltd. and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the owners of the Letseng le Terai Mine from which the diamond was procured, have announced Graff Jewellers' manufacturing arm, Safdico, as the winning bidder.

London-based Graff Jewellers was also the winning bidder of the Letseng mine's "Lesotho Promise," a 603-carat diamond sold in October 2006 for $12.4 million.

The Letseng Legacy auction was held yesterday in Antwerp, Belgium, at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). After the tenders were offered, Lesotho's Minister of Forestry and Land Reclamation Ralechate Mokose proclaimed the winning bid to attendees including the Lesotho ambassadors of Belgium and Germany; Antwerp Alderman for Diamonds' Ludo Van Campenhout; the management and board of directors of the AWDC and Gem Diamonds; and Safdico.

"We are very pleased to have once again made the winning bid for such a historic diamond," Johnny Kneller, chief executive officer of the northern hemisphere of Safdico, said in a statement. "To have acquired the Letseng Legacy as well as the Lesotho Promise is a great achievement for Safdico and Mr. Graff. This stone, as the previous one, will of course be manufactured in Antwerp."

Editor's note: For earlier developments in this story, see 493-carat 'Letseng Legacy' up for auction.
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