The 14th largest diamond in the world, the “Peace Diamond”, was displayed in New York on Tuesday, ahead of its second auction on December 4. /Chinanews Photo

The 709-carat gem was unearthed in Sierra Leone in March in its uncut form and went up for an initial auction in the country’s capital, Freetown, but the government rejected the highest bid of 7.8 million US dollars. /Chinanews Photo

The auction is now being managed by Rapaport Group, an international diamond trading network, which says over half of the proceeds from the final sale will be used to fund clean water, electricity, education and health projects in Sierra Leone. /Chinanews Photo