A legal battle over the ownership of a massive rough gemstone has finally ended, denying the Madagascan government's claim and leaving the French owner free to sell the 536kg gemstone.
The stone is the world's largest emerald in matrix - meaning the gems are embedded in a mass of other rock - and is known as Gift from Heaven. The court fight was launched in June last year by Madagascar's former government, under president Marc Ravalomanana, when the stone was on display at the BaoQu Tang Modern Art Gallery in the InterContinental Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui.
A Madagascan court awarded ownership on June 23 to the French company Orgaco, and the result was released yesterday. 'After over one year, argument over the ownership of Heaven's Gift between Orgaco and the Madagascar government ... is finally settled,' said Orgaco's Hong Kong agent, Grand Vision Trading.
The owner had already begun a private-tender auction for Gift of Heaven, which was entering its final screening stage, Grand Vision Trading said.
'The auction, which began in May and ended on June 27, took the form of private tendering - individual bidders told us secretly how much they would pay for the rock.'
The result would be announced on July 30, it said.
A company spokesman noted that the response to the auction of the 1.25-metre wide stone, which has been awarded a Guinness record, was better than expected.