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The world's most expensive necklace - whose massive centrepiece diamond was found by a little girl on a pile of rubbish 30 years ago - is on sale for 37m
By Anna Edwards PUBLISHED: 12:02 GMT, 4 October 2013 | UPDATED: 00:54 GMT, 5 October 2013

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An egg-shaped diamond, found in a lump of rock by a poverty-stricken African girl, has gone on sale as the centrepiece of the worlds most expensive necklace. Known as LIncomparable, the flawless yellow gem has more than 407 carats. The necklace is studded with 90 white diamonds weighing nearly 230 carats and it can be yours for 34million. Scroll down for video

Jessica Nasr holds the 637-carat 'L'incomparable necklace', featuring the world's largest internally flawless diamond

The necklace has been awarded the title of 'Most Valuable Necklace' in the world by the Guinness World Records

It was created by luxury jeweller Mouawad and is being offered for sale at a Singapore jewellery show. Only serious potential buyers will get the chance to try it on. For the LIncomparable is protected by an army of security guards, plain-clothed supervisors, cameras, and motion detectors. Yet serious interest has been shown by two potential buyers from Asia, Mouawads managing director Jean Nasr confirmed. One thing is certain, the child who found it in the 1980s will never benefit. Her identity and fate remains a mystery.
World's most expensive necklace to go on sale for 37m

The necklace, created by luxury jeweller Mouawad, will be the flashiest item on offer at the Singapore JewelFest

The necklace' centrepiece diamond was found by chance in a pile of mining rubble by a young girl in the Democratic Republic of Congo

LIncomparable was found in its rough state weighing 890 carats by the girl as she played in a pile of rubble outside her uncles house in the town of Mbuji Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rubble had been legitimately collected from the nearby MIBA Diamond Mine, after being rejected. To their eternal cost, the workers who assessed it had decided the rock was too bulky to be worth scanning for diamonds. But when the girls uncle saw the lump, he was convinced it was of value and sold it to local African diamond dealers for an unknown sum.

It features a yellow, internally flawless diamond of more than 407 carats suspended from a rose gold setting that is studded with 90 white diamonds weighing nearly 230 carats

The dealers, in turn, sold it to a group of Lebanese buyers operating from Kinshasa, Kenya. It was later bought in Antwerp by De Beers and Sir Philip Oppenheimer, then president of the Central Selling Organisation and a De Beers director, sold it to the Zale Corporation, a Dallas-based jewellery store chain. It continued to grow in value until it finally went on display as a finished stone in the Natural History wing of Washingtons Smithsonian Institute.

L'INCOMPARABLE - THE STONES BEYOND COMPARE

As well as the huge rock, LIncomparable also includes 35 round diamonds, 27 pear-shaped ones, nine that are heart-shaped, five emerald-cut diamonds, five cushion diamonds, four oval diamonds and four others Guinness named it the worlds most valuable necklace in 2013 The egg-shaped gemstone took more than four years to polish Its creator says the only thing the necklace lacks is to grace the neck of a Queen or a very special woman

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Comments (17)
Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all Report comment Ajhr, Gloucester, United Kingdom, 17 hours ago Wow I always did like carats and this one is beautiful.....I'd love it but where would I wear it lol

7 139 Click to rate Report comment darkoracle, Llandrindod, United Kingdom, 17 hours ago The relative sold it to the diamond company? I'd be willing to bet that the little girl saw nothing from that sale.

10 591 Click to rate Report comment Jarg, Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 17 hours ago What did the uncle sell it for I wonder?

4 289 Click to rate Report comment hereingermany, somewherethere, 17 hours ago a single one from the smaller ones would be just fine by me :-)

3 178 Click to rate

Report comment rahul, harrow, United Kingdom, 17 hours ago

amazing

3 88 Click to rate Report comment Jacques, Mafikeng, 17 hours ago and the young girl that picked it up?

3 322 Click to rate Report comment Zippity Doo Dah, Zippity Day, United Kingdom, 17 hours ago What happened to the little girl?

3 448 Click to rate Report comment Tigerpaw16, Pembroke, 17 hours ago And I'm sure the little girl that found it 30 years ago got absolutely "nothing" for finding it. And lost all rights to it when her uncle sold it to a diamond dealer. So what else is new in this unjust world?

3 434 Click to rate Report comment Justme, Schweiz, 17 hours ago I wonder what the little girl got or if she is still playing in the rubbish????

3 299 Click to rate Report comment userpete86, IrvineCA, United States, 17 hours ago That's a pretty rock. One day people will laugh that it cost the same purchasing power as 37 really nice homes.

5 122 Click to rate The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

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