CrimeOct 15, 2025
Men Receive Lengthy Prison Sentences for 2023 Murder of Colorado JewelerCharles Robinson Shay was sentenced to life in prison plus 120 years while his accomplice, Michael James McCormack, got 75 years.
SourcingNov 18, 2019
20-Carat Blue Diamond Goes for $741K Per Carat
A leading diamond company bought the stone, which is described as an “exceptional” Type IIb diamond.
Miner Petra Diamond sold this 20.08-carat “exceptional” Type IIb diamond for nearly $15 million at a tender held at its offices in Johannesburg earlier this month.
Johannesburg—Petra Diamonds Ltd. found a buyer for the 20.08-carat blue diamond it unearthed in South Africa earlier this fall.
The diamond miner recovered the stone from the Cullinan Mine in September, and sold it via a tender held at its diamond marketing offices in Johannesburg earlier this month for $14.9 million, or about $741,000 per carat.
Cathy Malins, a Petra spokeswoman, said in the 10 years the company has been operating the mine this is the second highest price per carat achieved for a blue diamond, a “testament to its very high quality.”
The highest was a 29.6-carat blue rough that sold for $25.6 million, or nearly $863,000 per carat. That stone was cut into a 12-carat diamond that sold for $48.5 million in 2015 and was dubbed the “Blue Moon of Josephine.”
Petra said a “leading diamond company” bought the 20.08-carat stone but wishes to remain anonymous.
Petra Chief Executive Richard Duffy said in a press release the result is what the company expected and “confirms the resilience in the value of very high-quality blue diamonds.”
“We look forward to following this exceptional stone’s journey to its polished form.”
Also on Friday, the London-based diamond miner announced it is restructuring in order to better support its operations and speed up implementation of Project 2022, a three-year plan to cut debt.
The mines now report directly to Chief Executive Richard Duffy, and the chief operating officer role has been eliminated.
As a result, current COO Luctor Roode is leaving the company immediately.
Duffy said: “Luctor has been instrumental in leading the operations’ transition to steady state operational performance following a long period of capital investment across our mines and I would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the company over the last eight years.
“He leaves Petra at a time when the Company is delivering solid and consistent production results across the operations and I am certain that he will be successful in his future endeavors. We wish him well.”
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