A tennis ball-sized rough diamond unearthed nearly two years ago by Canada's Lucara Diamond Corp has been sold for $53 million, the Vancouver-based company said on Monday.

The 1,109-carat stone, which is the world's largest uncut diamond, was bought by high-profile British diamond dealer Graff Diamonds for $47,777 per carat, and will now be cut and polished, Lucara said.

The price paid was an "improvement" on the highest bid received for the diamond at a Sotheby's auction in June 2016, Lucara chief executive and president William Lamb said.

The stone, named "Lesedi La Rona", or "Our Light" in the national language of Botswana where it was mined at Lucara's Karowe mine in November 2015, is said to be 2.5 to 3 billion years old. - Reuters

Source: Khaleej Times