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Jeremy Ractliffe has appeared in court ahead of his trial for handling uncut diamonds.

The former head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund who handled uncut diamonds has appeared in court.

Jeremy Ractliffe was at Alexandra Magistrates Court to face the charge of holding onto the stones, which is a criminal offence in South Africa. His trial is due to get underway next March.

He was given the precious gems – items similar to which are used in diamond rings and diamond pendants – by Naomi Campbell, who received them from Charles Taylor, she said at the war crimes trial of the former Libyan ruler earlier this year.

Mr Ractliffe admitted holding on to the gems for over a decade before handing them over to police, saying he took them from the supermodel to help protect her reputation.

In an interview with Sky News last month, Campbell said she felt she had been used as a "scapegoat".

"This trial has been going on for how many years and no-one cared to write about it?," she said.

An intense pink diamond going under the hammer for the first time in around 60 years has been described as one of the most-sought after precious stones by a leading auctioneer.

Speaking to Reuters, chairman of the jewellery department in Europe and the Middle East for Sotheby's David Bennett said the 24.78-carat gem is "one of the most desirable diamonds ever to come to auction".

"Its beauty has haunted me since the very first time I set eyes on it some years ago," he added.

The diamond is going on display at Sotheby's showroom in London this week ahead of its sale next month in Geneva, where it is estimated to sell for as much as $38 million (£24.1 million) – a record-breaking price.

Sotheby's auctions in the city have a strong track record for diamond sales, having achieved the four highest prices ever realised for white diamonds, with the Star of the Season fetching $16.5 million in 1995.

Case Western Reserve University researchers are utilising diamonds in research they hope will give paralysed patients use of their limbs

Diamonds are being used by US researchers working to develop electrodes that can reverse paralysis.

Heidi Martin and Christian Zorman of Case Western Reserve University – which receives nearly $400 million (£251.7 million) in external grants every year – are building implants made using the precious stones and a flexible polymer.

The aim is to stimulate nerves in those who have lost the use of their limbs, as well as to identify the chemical and electrical changes that occur in the brains of patients who have neural diseases.

Mr Zorman explained the hardness and rigidity of diamond means it is important not to use too much of the material, as it would damage tissue and be rejected by the body.

"We only need diamond at the biological interface – where the device connects with a nerve," he explained.

Ms Martin said the items they are trying to develop would "last a lifetime".

"A patient would have one surgery and that's it," she remarked.

Mindy Cohn has been given a diamond ring by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a gift for being godmother to two of their children.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have given a diamond ring to the 80s television star they have chosen as godmother to two of their children.

The Hollywood couple gifted the item to Mindy Cohn – former star of The Facts of Life – last week and now a source has told Us Weekly the ring is "unbelievable".

"She wears it on her right finger," the insider observed, adding it must be "four or five carats" in size.

When asked about the ring, which features diamonds set in white gold, Cohn told the individual: "Brad and Angelina gave it to me."

She is said to have known Pitt – star of Fight Club, Meet Joe Black and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – for years and often visits the couple, who pay her travel costs.

In addition to starring on The Facts of Life, Cohn has lent her voice to numerous Scooby Doo cartoons, playing the part of Velma.