26.11 carat diamond found by brick kiln worker auctioned for ₹1.62 crore

A 26.11 carat diamond found recently by a brick kiln operator in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna was sold for ₹1.62 crore, while 87 other rough diamonds fetched a total of ₹1.89 crore during an auction, an official said on Sunday (February 27).

The auction was conducted on February 24 and 25 in MP’s ‘diamond city’ Panna, located 380km from the state capital, Bhopal.

On the first day, 36 diamonds collectively weighing 82.45 carats were sold for ₹1.65 crore, Panna district collector Sanjay Kumar Mishra said.

Fifty-two diamonds weighing 78.35 carats fetched ₹1.86 crore on the second day.

During the auction, the highest price of ₹1.62 crore was fetched by a 26.11 carat diamond, which was found in a mine on February 21, the official said.

The auction for this precious stone started from ₹3 lakh per carat and went up to ₹6.22 lakh per carat, he said, adding that such a big diamond was found in Panna after a long time.

A local trader bought this diamond, which was found by Sushil Shukla, who operates a small-scale brick kiln business, in a shallow mine located in Krishna Kalyanpur area.

The proceeds will be given to the miner after the deduction of government royalty and taxes.

Panna district has reserves estimated to be containing diamonds worth 12 lakh carats, according to officials.