The Peace Diamond
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The Peace Diamond: the good in the diamond industry

A diamond auction for a good cause. The Peace Diamond will be auctioned next 4 December and all the sale's proceeds will go to help the poorest in Sierra Leone, where the rough was discovered.

The Peace Diamond will go to auction in New York next 4 December. A significant sale to help the diamond diggers and their communities.

 

The Peace Diamond is the world’s 14th largest diamond at 709 carats. Discovered by impoverished diggers in Sierra Leone it will be auctioned in New York with all the auction proceeds going directly to the government of Sierra Leone and the artisanal diggers.

 

 

The Peace Diamond

 

The Peace Diamond will provide vital life-saving infrastructure to the diggers and their communities who currently have no clean water, electricity, medical facilities, schools, and roads. It will help the poorest people in the world and provide hope for a better future.

 

 

Previous to the sale, a Peace Diamond Press Conference will take place in New York and over the internet on Tuesday, November 21st at 9:30 am EST.

The Press Conference will introduce Pastor Momoh of the artisanal diggers, Paul Saquee V, Paramount Chief of Kono District and Martin Rapaport, Chairman Rapaport Group.

The Peace Diamond Auction will happen in New York on Monday, December 4 at 10:00 am, in Rapaport Offices.

The proceeds of the Peace Diamond auction will be distributed as follows: 59% to the government of Sierra Leone, 15% to the Diamond Area Community Development Fund and 26% to the diggers who discovered the diamond.

 

MARTIN RAPAPORT, CHAIRMAN OF THE RAPAPORT GROUP

“There is a reason that God gave diamonds to the poorest people in the world and made the wealthiest desire them. The sale of the Peace Diamond is ‘Tikun Olam,’ fixing the world. The sale of the Peace Diamond will make the world a better place.”

 

The Peace Diamond is a 709-carat rough diamond discovered by a team of five artisanal diggers near the village of Koryardu in Sierra Leone on March 13, 2017. It is the world’s 14th largest diamond measuring approximately 2.5 inches wide and 1 inch deep.

 

 

 

 

Pastor Emmanuel Momoh, the manager and financial supporter of the digger team, is the legal owner of the diamond and a leader in the village and community where the rough was found.

In spite of accepting offers to smuggle the diamond, he insisted that the crystal be sold through official government channels so that the financial benefits would be appropriately shared with his village, district and the people of Sierra Leone.

Pastor Momoh immediately took the stone to Paramount Chief of the Kono District Paul Ngaba Saquee V and together they delivered it to the President of Sierra Leone Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. The president committed to ensuring a transparent and competitive auction process, and a local Sierra Leone auction was held on May 11, 2017.

 

The Peace Diamond
The Peace Diamond

 

Unfortunately, the highest bid at the auction in Sierra Leone was for $7.777 million only, and the proposal was rejected. The government and Pastor Momoh then decided that the diamond should be sold in an international auction that would make the stone available to more buyers and ensure a fair market value price for the people of Sierra Leone. 

 

The government of Sierra Leone appointed the Rapaport Group as the marketing and sales agent for the Peace diamond on October 2, 2017. Instructions were given that the Peace Diamond was to be sold in a transparent and competitive auction process that will ensure fair market value.

Due to the significant benefit that the Peace Diamond will bring to the people of Sierra Leone, and to encourage legitimate artisanal diamond distribution channels, the Rapaport Group has agreed to provide the marketing and auction services for the Peace Diamond free of all charges.

 

The Peace Diamond
The Peace Diamond

 

The Peace Diamond represents all that is good in the diamond industry.

 

Over 50% of the sales value of the diamond will directly benefit the people of Sierra Leone. The Peace Diamond will make a huge difference in the lives of the poorest people in the world. It will provide villages with clean water, electricity, healthcare, schools, vital bridges and roads. It will create opportunities for sustainable economic development and jobs.

The buyer of the 709-carat rough Peace Diamond will have an opportunity to brand the resultant polished diamonds as Peace Diamonds. These diamonds are the best diamonds because they have helped create a better life for tens of thousands of people.

 

PRESIDENT DR ERNEST BAI KOROMA

“I thank the local chief and his people for not smuggling the diamond out of the country, and the owners should get what is due to them and it should also benefit the country as a whole. The Government remains committed to ensuring a transparent and competitive auction process that will ensure fair market value for Sierra Leone’s diamonds. We call on the worldwide
diamond industry to bid generously for the Peace Diamond as it will bring vital infrastructure and benefit to thousands of Sierra Leone’s artisanal diggers.”

 

MARTIN RAPAPORT

“I believe in the positive energy of the Peace Diamond and the great good it will do for the people of Sierra Leone. The lucky buyers of the Peace Diamond and the resultant polished Peace Diamonds can take pride in knowing that they have created a better life for tens of thousands of people. This is a diamond that makes the world a better place. This is a diamond with spiritual sparkle.”

 

PASTOR EMMANUEL MOMO, LEADER OF THE DIAMOND DIGGERS

“The Peace Diamond will greatly improve the lives of our people as it will bring clean water, electricity, schools, medical facilities, bridges and roads to our villages and the Kono District. This diamond represents our hope for a better future as the resources of Sierra Leone fund growth, development and jobs.”

 


 

 

To know more about the Peace Diamond, please visit https://www.peacediamond.com/

 

To join in the Peace Diamond Press Conference Online – 21 November 2017:

Participate and ask questions via https://zoom.us/j/753274144 and telephone number +1 855 880 1246, Webinar ID 753 274 144.

 

To attend the auction online – 4 December 2017:

Follow the link https://zoom.us/j/753274144, as the auction will be broadcasted worldwide. Registered bidders will be able to bid in person, online, over the telephone or by submitting an official Bid Form before the auction. Registration, Bid Forms and additional information will be available shortly at www.peacediamond.com. Assistance is available by emailing peacediamond@diamonds.net or by calling +1-212-354-9800.

 

Additional Media Contacts

Media Contacts: PeaceDiamond@Diamonds.Net

New York: Ziggy Spindler +1-212-354-9100;

U.S.: Sherri Hendricks +1-702-216-1041

Europe: Lea Retter +323-232-3300;

Israel: Amit +972-3-613-3330

India: Karishma Nagpal +91-22-6628-2700

 

 

 

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