Graff Diamonds, well known manufacturer of some of the largest high quality diamonds in the world, yesterday unveiled the 302.37ct Graff Lesedi La Rona, which it said is not only the “the largest square emerald cut diamond in the world “, but also “the largest highest colour, highest clarity diamond ever certified by the GIA”.

The glittering piece of polished has been certified by GIA as being “a top D colour, with exceptional clarity and both excellent polish and symmetry”, the jeweller said.

Cut and polished by an expert team of gemmologists and master polishers at Graff, the stone is the largest of the 67 polished diamonds that have been crafted from the 1,109 carat rough diamond recovered by Lucara Diamond in Botswana a few years ago. Graff purchased the rough for US$ 53 million.

The other “exceptional satellite diamonds” from Lesedi La Rona range in size from over 100 carats to smaller than one carat, the jeweller said. Each diamond is inscribed with Graff, Lesedi La Rona and its unique GIA number, and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity from Graff and the GIA, the company said.

Graff used “highly sophisticated software, custom built” for the purpose of analysing the stone, and said that the initial incisions were made with state-of-the-art lasers by Graff’s master craftsman, an expert in this field and a classically trained musician. The jeweller said he “used his highly attuned musician’s ear to listen for the smooth progression of the laser”.

The jeweller is reported to have likened the process to “the riskiest form of art”, stating that mistakes can never be covered up, and a strategy has to be planned and problems have to be anticipated. There would never be a “second chance”, he is reported to have said.

Pic caption: The 302.27 carat Graff Lesedi La Rona

Pic courtesy: Graff Diamonds