Teodora, the World's Largest Faceted Emerald, Goes to Auction January 28

Try to find the right setting for this one… Teodora, the world’s largest faceted emerald at 57,000 carats, will be auctioned next weekend in Canada. The opaque, deep green gemstone, which weighs about 25 pounds and is the size of a watermelon, is said to be worth $1.15 million and might fetch much more at the January 28th Western Star Auction in Kelowna, British Columbia, according to Metro News. 

Mined in Brazil and sold to a gem cutter in India, Teodora means Gift of God. Other details about exactly where and when the gem was found remain murky. We do know that the stone was made available for sale and was imported to Canada just this past Friday by Calgary gem hunter  Regan Reany.

It’s hard to believe that this emerald is only the fifth-largest emerald ever found. The four larger ones have been left unfaceted.

Reaney said Teodora is a once-in-a-lifetime find that he doesn’t believe will be matched any time soon. “I’m still amazed every time I look at, pick it up, touch it. It is amazing,” Reaney told The Calgary Herald.

The extraordinary gemstone was appraised by Jeff Nechka of Premier Gems. The appraiser said he conducted numerous tests to confirm the emerald’s authenticity. “At first I was very skeptical,” Nechka told the Edmonton Journal. “Anything this large occurring in nature is extremely rare.”

“What  made [the appraisal] difficult is the sheer size and weight,” said Nechka. “The gem  instruments are quite delicate and fragile, so it took quite a bit of maneuvering and special handling to go through the different tests to  confirm it is, in fact, a genuine emerald.”