Israeli-French auction house Tzoffey's 1818 has announced that it will add a rough diamond weighing more than 600 carats to its tender during the March 9-13 International Rough Diamond Week (IRDW) at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). According to Tzoffey's 1818 President Avner Sofiov, the stone, sourced from an unnamed mine in Africa, is cleavable, which, once planned and cut, will render a number of larger polished diamonds.

"I am very excited to include such a large stone in the Tzoffey's tender in March," says Sofiov. "The International Rough Diamond Week is a joint project of the entire Israeli diamond industry to boost our country's position as an international rough diamond trading hub. We're honored to be contributing to that joint effort," Sofiov adds, noting that more than 200 participants have scheduled viewings for the Tzoffey's 1818 tender.

Registration for the upcoming IRDW closed a few days ago as the tender week reached its limit of registered participants, says IDE Deputy President Arnon Juwal, who heads the IRDW organizing committee. According to Juwal, around 350 diamantaires - from Israel, India, Belgium and the USA - will view the rough diamonds of the IDE Tender Facility, Fusion/I Hennig Tenders, De Beers Auction Sales, Rio Tinto and Tzoffey's 1818.