The Story
How a single stone, and the people who refused to let it disappear, rewrote what a diamond can mean.
On March 13, 2017, five artisanal diggers working near Koyardu, in eastern Sierra Leone, unearthed an extraordinary 709-carat rough diamond. Roughly 2.5 inches wide and 1 inch deep, it was the world's 14th largest diamond ever found — a stone of a scale most miners never see in a lifetime.
It belonged, legally, to Pastor Emanuel Momoh, who had supported the diggers' work. In a region where such a find could vanish overnight into illicit channels, what happened next would define everything.
Pastor Momoh refused every offer to smuggle the diamond out of the country. He insisted, instead, that it be sold openly — through official government channels — so that the value it carried would flow back to his village, his district, and the people of Sierra Leone.
It was a decision against immediate self-interest, and in favor of something larger: the principle that the wealth pulled from this land should return to the hands that dug it.
Together with Paramount Chief Paul Ngaba Saquee V, Pastor Momoh personally delivered the diamond to President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma. The handover was a public act of trust — placing the country's largest find directly into the care of the state, to be sold for the benefit of all.
This diamond is proof of what is possible when we choose transparency over temptation — when the wealth of our land returns to our people.
On May 11, 2017, the diamond was offered at a local auction in Sierra Leone. The top bid came in at $7.08 million — and the government rejected it, judging that the stone could, and should, achieve far more for the country on the world stage.
It was a bold gamble. Refusing seven million dollars in hand required conviction that the diamond's true worth — and its purpose — lay beyond the local market.
The decision was made to sell the diamond internationally. On October 2, 2017, the Rapaport Group was appointed as the marketing and sales agent for the stone — providing its services free of all charges, so that nothing would be drawn away from the proceeds destined for Sierra Leone.
On December 4, 2017, the Sierra Leone Peace Diamond sold to the House of Graff for $6,536,360.
December 4, 2017 · The Sale
The Sierra Leone Peace Diamond sold to the House of Graff for $6,536,360 — and our journey has just begun.
The sale creates a virtuous cycle of development. This is how the diamond industry can — and should — work for the source.
Over 50% of the sale value went directly to the benefit of the people of Sierra Leone — funding clean water, electricity, healthcare, schools, bridges, roads, and sustainable jobs in the communities where the diamond was found.
And the stone's story continues in what it becomes: the buyer holds the opportunity to brand the polished diamonds cut from this rough as Peace Diamonds — carrying the name, and the meaning, into the world.
I refused to let it leave in the dark. This diamond belongs to my people — and it was sold for them.