Birthstone Jewel: Diamonds - Stories From Lesotho...

Contrary to the hype - Diamonds are anything but rare!  With so many mining regions around the world it is an unfortunate reality that sometimes a mining region is graded by the sum of it parts...and the Lesotho region of South Africa has some REALLY impressive parts!

The Lesotho Promise:  


Think about it - 603 carat single stone - yet the Lesotho Promise was only the 15th largest diamond ever discovered.  


SAFDICO studied the rough and the decision was made to cut it into 26 D color Flawless Gems ranging from 55 points to 75 carats.


The stones were then entrusted to the Design house of Graff Diamonds who designed a single piece of jewelry which incorporated all of the stones!


See how this important stone became a jewel in the Lesotho Promise Movie:
http://www.safdico.com/News-and-Media/The-Lesotho-Promise-Movie


The Graff Vivid Yellow:

190 mesmerizing carats of brilliant yellow - originally named the Dream Diamond.

Says Laurence Graff of the moment he saw the raw lump of rock crystal in Kimberley, South Africa, “It was an intense golden yellow and one of the rarest yellow diamonds I had ever seen.  I knew the polished stone within would be more than exceptional”.

For over nine months Nino Bianco worked this stone - the results speak for themselves...a 109.09 carat cushion cut diamond - BRILLIANT!!!

The Star of Lesotho:

Just days before the ceremony that marked the opening of the Letseng Mine in the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho, a spectacular white diamond weighing 123 carat was unearthed.  Tendered in Antwerp and acquired by Safdico, the manufacturing arm of Graff, the stone was studied and cut in Antwerp with the consultancy of Diamcad, to obtain a truly superb Heart Shaped diamond weighing 53.11 carat.

The Rose:
10.77 carats in the rough - the Rose was sourced from the Premier Mine in South Africa. Cut and polished at the SAFDICO factory in New York by master-cutter Antonio Bianco.




Dec. 2, 2009 (Bloomberg) --
A ring with a pink diamond the size of a chickpea sold last night for a record HK$83.5 million ($10.8 million) at a Hong Kong auction of art, gems and antiques that was fuelled by Chinese buying.

The price paid for the stone was the highest paid for any pink diamond, but more important, the highest per carat for any diamond, regardless of size or color.

The finished internally flawless, 5.00 carats fancy vivid pink diamond is without doubt one of the rarest and most splendid diamonds the world has ever known.

Safdico has set unsurpassed standards of innovation, craftsmanship and professionalism throughout the diamond industry. We have a worldwide distribution network, employing over 250 people and specialising in top-end, extraordinary diamonds.

Safdico's key individuals, Laurence Graff, Brian Gutkin and Johnny Kneller evince a combined knowledge, experience and level of professionalism that is unique. Between them, they have integrated all aspects of the diamond business into one, highly efficient company with offices and factories around the world.

Thousands of carats of rough diamonds are cut and polished monthly in South Africa, Antwerp, New York and Botswana. They are subsequently offered to a discerning public around the world.