After Petra ‘s 123 blue diamond, now Gem Diamonds announces 162 ct Letseng diamond 

In February, Gem Diamonds was paid $11.1m (£6.57m) for a 162-carat Letseng diamond, while a similar-sized rock went for $2.4m. Rob Broke, an industry analyst at Westhouse Securities, points out that the last exceptional type 11 diamond sold by the company achieved an average value of $68,687 per carat. A similar price would add around $14m to the company’s year-end financials. Whatever the outcome, the miner will now have to make good on its commitment to a maiden full-year dividend at the end of this year.

The news from Gem Diamonds comes shortly after industry stablemate Petra Diamonds (PDL) produced an “exceptional” 123-carat blue diamond from the Cullinan mine near Pretoria. Petra already pocketed $25.6m from the sale of another rarity to US jeweller Cora International back in Februa