An exceptionally rare 102.39-carat diamond may become one of the most expensive stones ever to sell at auction when it goes under the hammer in Hong Kong in October.
IMAGE: An employee of Sotheby’s poses with a perfect 100+ carat diamond, the second largest oval diamond of its kind to ever appear at an auction which will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in October. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
The stone, a 102.39-carat D Colour Flawless Oval Diamond, could fetch $10 million to $30 million (Rs 73.69 crore – Rs 221 crore).
Only seven flawless white diamonds of more than 100 carats have ever been sold at auction. It is the second-largest oval diamond of its kind ever sold at auction.
While Sotheby’s doesn’t have an official estimate, comparable diamonds have sold for between $11 million and $30 million in the past, said Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s jewelry department in New York.
IMAGE: About the size of an egg or a large lollipop, the diamond is going up for auction next month and is expected to fetch $10 million to $30 million. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Cut from a 271-carat rough diamond discovered in 2018 in Ontario, Canada, the oval stone has achieved top rankings in each of the “four Cs” — cut, colour, clarity and carat weight — by which a diamond is judged, the auction house said.
The stone, described by Sotheby’s as “the size of a lollipop,” will be sold at a live auction in Hong Kong on October 5.
IMAGE: Only seven such diamonds — known in the trade as D colour flawless or internally flawless white diamonds, over 100 carats — have previously been sold at auction. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
While white diamonds can attract huge bids at auction, pink and blue varieties have achieved even larger sums in recent years. In 2017, a 59.60-carat pink diamond known as the Pink Star became the most expensive jewel ever to sell at auction when it went for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.
IMAGE: The world record for any diamond or jewel sold at auction was set in 2017 when a 59.60-carat fancy vivid pink diamond was sold for $71.2 million to a Hong Kong jewellery company. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Two years earlier, the 12.03-carat “Blue Moon” diamond sold for $48.4 million, also through Sotheby’s.
IMAGE: The diamond will be sold in a single-lot action without a reserve price at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on October 5. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
