Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD) has reached an agreement to sell a 108.39-carat pink Type IIa diamond – one of the world’s largest pink gems – to Antwerp-based Choron for an undisclosed sum, IDEX Online reports.
The gem was recovered in March from the Kao mine in Lesotho, surpassing the Pink Eternity, a 47.81-carat diamond recovered from the same mine last year. This latest pink gem is nearly twice the size of the Pink Star, which set a record by selling for $71.2 million in April 2017. Previous notable pink diamonds unearthed in Kao include the “Pink Dawn” (25.97 carats), “Pink Palesa” (21.68 carats) in 2021, and the Rose of Kao (29.59 carats) in 2018.
Anshul Gandhi, CEO of Choron, commented on the sale: “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. 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, discovered in 1956, is the largest in Lesotho and the fourth largest in Southern Africa. It was acquired by Kao Diamond Mines in 2006 and later by SMD in 2010, jointly owned by Namakwa Diamonds Limited and the Lesotho Government.
