Intrigue and greed: the failed auction of a 1,109 carat diamond
Imagine holding a diamond roughly the size of a tennis ball in your hands, terrified it may shatter at any time.
"They're very hard, but at the same time, they can have flaws that render them extremely susceptible to cleavage."
Matthew Hart had the rare opportunity to see, and hold, the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona diamond. Typically, as Hart explains, the public aren't able to view or learn much about the sale of these diamonds, but after striking a deal with a director of Lucara Diamond Corp. — the Vancouver-based company that owns the rock — he was in.
"I sent her a note that said, 'If I can get into Vanity Fair, how about you let me see the diamond?'"
What makes this diamond's story interesting, aside from its impressive size, is the manner by which it was intended to be sold. William Lamb, the CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp., didn't want the diamond to go to someone who would cut and polish it, then put their own margin on the product. He wanted it to be sold as a piece of art — uncut, unpolished and intact.
They wanted to see if there was a way — well, not to put too fine a point upon it — if there was a way they could go right around the trade and have all the money.- Matthew Hart on Lamb's sales tactic for the Lesedi La Rona diamond
The way Hart puts it, Lamb wanted the diamond "sold like a Picasso," to be seen as an object of rarity and reverence. However, this technique was seen by those in the diamond trade as a slight, says Hart. For weeks ahead of the auction, those in the know were "trash talking" the Lesedi La Rona diamond.
Hart calls what happened to Lamb at the failed auction an "assassination." The diamond hit $61 million at its highest bid. While that might sound high, the bid was below Lucara's reserve price and the diamond did not sell. But according to Hart, the story of the stone's rise and fall may prove beneficial for its future sale.
It's now a famous stone with a dramatic story attached to it — the story of the failed auction. It's got all this glamour. But I don't think that's damaged its price.- Matthew Hart on the diamond's potential to sell for more than its auction price
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Ines Colabrese and Karin Marley.