Thanks to the assiduous efforts of the diamond industry, Valentine's Day has come to be associated with diamond jewelry. But today in Anterp, a special rough diamond from Canada's Ekati Mine in Yellowknife is up for auction.

The 78-carat rough diamond is considered the most significant stone yielded by the mine – owned by mining conglomerate BHP Billiton – in the past 13 years.

Alexander Legaree, head of communications for Ekati, called the diamond "absolutely stunning, stunning" but would not hazard a guess as to what the opening bid might be. Click here to see the Ekati diamond



And in other Valentine's-themed auction news, Christie's plans to auction a 56-carat heart-shaped diamond in Geneva this May. The diamond is cut in a perfectly symmetrical heart and is one of only a few jewels of over 50 carats to be sold at auction in the past 20 years.

According to estimates, the heart-shaped stone could sell for as much as $11.9 million.