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On Monday 4 December in New York the government of Sierra Leone will auction a 709 carat rough diamond, which it has named the Peace Diamond.
The stone which will be sold for the benefit of 250,000 inhabitants of a region with no school, hospital, clean water, roads or electricity.
In a move designed to inspire confidence in diamonds and fetch the highest price for the stone, the Rapaport Group is marketing and auctioning the Peace Diamond for free.
Results of the auction are expected at 7pm UK time on Monday 4 December.
Tobias Kormind, managing director of London-based jeweller 77 Diamonds, said: “This is a life-saving diamond and I hope it sells for a wildly expensive price. While 65% of the world’s diamonds come from Africa, the Peace Diamond – as well as being the third largest diamond found in Sierra Leone and the 14th largest ever found worldwide – will be instrumental in making the world a better place.
“50% of the sale proceeds will go directly towards bringing life-saving infrastructure to the community where the diamond was discovered, home to 250,000 people, some of the poorest in the world. I hope we see much more of this integrity and vision in the global diamond industry.”
