The 118.28-carat D-flawless oval stone sold for HKD$238.7 million (AU$32.5m) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction last week. The price tops the previous record of US$26.7 million (AU$29m) for a 102-carat stone that was set only in May this year by jewellery and watch company Harry Winston.
The anonymous buyer has been described as a “private collector”.
But while the sale of the white diamond broke a record, the auction house failed to sell the Premier Blue, a 7.5-carat vivid blue stone that was expected to set a record per-carat price for a diamond.
The diamond was reportedly the largest fancy vivid blue stone ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
As previously reported by Jeweller, chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery division in Asia, Chin Yeow Quek, said that given the two large items on offer he had hoped the sale would set a record for the largest ever jewellery auction. Although the overall sale, totalling US$95.5 million (AU$101m), fell short of this goal, it still set a record for a jewellery auction in Asia.
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