Sierra Leone has announced that it will be auctioning a 709 carat pure diamond in New York City this December.
The said diamond was discovered in March by a man called Emmanuel Momoh, who happens to be an Evangelical Pastor. He hopes the sale of the diamond will improve the standard of living of the people in the region, with expectations of necessities like electricity, water, schools and health care provisions by the government from the money realized from the sale of the diamond.
The stone is said to rank between 10th-15th largest in the world history of diamonds.
The stone was initially up for sale in Sierra Leone, but received an offer of a mere $7.7 million, an action that prompted the government to auction abroad. The precious stone will be put on display at Belgian city of Antwerp, and will be up for sale on the 4th of December at Rapaport Auctions.
The government has promised to be as transparent as possible with the sale of the diamond, with the thought of the controversial blood diamond/ cross boarder trafficking the country was involved in the 90s.
