Mike Tyson’s Yellow Diamond Sells for $2.8 Million

A 43.51 carat diamond once belonging to Mike Tyson also referred to as the “Golden Eye Diamond sold for $2.8 Million on September 09, 2011.”

The diamond last belonged to Ohio Alliance business man Paul Monea who was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy. Monea made millions of dollars in the 1990’s by infomercials that sold Tae Bo exercises. He was later convicted in May of 2007 for money laundering and conspiracy in Federal Court. Monea tried to sell the diamond, an estate which once belonged to former boxer Mike Tyson, and including a boat to an under cover FBI agent all for $19.5 million dollars. After the sting operation, the diamond was forfeited to the Federal Government.

In 1999, Monea purchased a 25,000 square foot mansion in northeast Ohio’s Trumbull County from Mike Tyson for $1.3 million dollars. Monea is now 64 years old and in 2007 he was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison. He is schedule to be released from an Ohio Federal State prison in the year 2018.

The yellow diamond measures 3/4 inch wide and is 1/2 inch deep. The stone has a rectangular brilliant cut crown with 25 different facets displaying an intense vibrant yellow color. Spokeswoman for Bid4Assets.com, Jenny Lynchit, indicates it is one of the largest internally flawless yellow diamonds. Bid4Assets.com is the company which sold the large yellow diamond.

The authorities do not know exactly where the yellow diamond originated from but experts believe it came from South Africa due to its very strong yellow color. Tom Moses, senior vice president of Gemological Institute indicates that what makes this diamond so rare, is its yellow strong color, its clarity and its unusual large size. On diamonds like thi, the more yellow the diamond the higher the value is for it.

Bid4Assets.com which is based in Silver Spring, issued a statement indicating that this is the largest and most valuable diamond that Bid4Assets.com has ever had the privilege of auctioning off. Bid4Assets.com has been in business for 12 years.

This yellow diamond has attracted interest world wide from speculators and potential bidders. The starting bid for the yellow gem started off at $900,000. Bids were then increased by $110,000 increments. A $180,000 refundable deposit was required before anyone could even view or bid on the diamond.