The D colour, flawless, round brilliant-cut diamond – which will be available to privately purchase rather than through the traditional method of auction – is said to be the only known round brilliant cut diamond over 100 carats that is ‘perfect’ in colour, clarity and cut, a statement by Sotheby's noted.
“At 102.34-carats, this masterpiece of nature is the rarest white diamond ever to come to the market and the largest, round D colour flawless diamond known to man,” it said.
“The only stone of its kind ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the diamond has achieved the highest rankings under each of the criteria by which the quality of a stone is judged – ‘the four Cs’,” it added.
Founder and chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds Patti Wong further detailed the diamond, which was on display between 8–9 February to coincide with the first anniversary of Sotheby’s Bond Street, London branch opening.
“In the course of my long career, which has brought me close to some of the greatest stones the earth has ever yielded, I have not encountered anything quite like this,” Wong said.
“With its outstanding weight, its perfect colour, clarity and cut, it is a masterpiece of nature brought to life by human hand, blazing with a brilliant firework-like display of almost every colour on the spectrum - mesmerising to behold.
“It is a huge privilege to mark the first anniversary of our London salon with the exhibition of such a superlative stone,” she added.
While an exact sales figure for how much the diamond is expected to fetch has not been disclosed, Sotheby’s made note of how much previous diamonds weighing over 100 carats have sold for.
According to the statement, “Only seven diamonds weighing more than 100 carats and with the highest colour for colourless diamonds (D colour) has ever sold at auction; none of them were of brilliant cut.”
The seven diamonds ranged in size from 100 to 163-carats and sold for between US$11 million (AU$13.8 m) and US$33.7 million (AU$42.5 m).
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