An exceptionally unusual 102.39-carat diamond may turn out to be a single of the most expensive stones ever to offer at auction when it goes under the hammer in Hong Kong up coming thirty day period.
Although auction dwelling Sotheby’s declined to deliver a pre-sale estimate, diamonds of similar size and high quality have formerly attracted bids concerning $12 million to additional than $30 million.
Slash from a 271-carat rough diamond identified in 2018 in Ontario, Canada, the oval stone has reached prime rankings in each of the “four Cs” — minimize, colour, clarity and carat body weight — by which a diamond is judged, the auction property said.
It has been classified as “D coloration,” the greatest grading for a white diamond, and is deemed to be internally and externally “flawless,” putting it between the world’s most chemically pure, clear and symmetrical diamonds. It also belongs to a scarce subgroup of diamonds that comprise very little to no nitrogen.
The stone will be only the eighth white diamond of similar measurement and high quality to market at auction, in accordance to Sotheby’s. Credit history: Sotheby’s
Only 7 D colour flawless (or internally flawless) diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have at any time appeared at auction prior to, according to Sotheby’s.
‘Transformative’ time for auction marketplace
Unusually, the scarce oval diamond is being provided without having a reserve, that means that it will be bought regardless of the dimensions of the greatest bid. Bidding will open up on the web from September 15, with the sale concluding at a stay auction in Hong Kong on Oct 5.
In the meantime, the item is established to go on display screen at appointment-only previews in Beijing, Shanghai, New York and Taipei.
In a press assertion, Sotheby’s throughout the world chairman of jewellery, Gary Schuler, mentioned that it was “tricky to overstate (the stone’s) rarity and attractiveness.” Chair of Sotheby’s Asia, Patti Wong, meanwhile expressed confidence about the sale, inspite of the challenges introduced by the Covid-19 pandemic, in what she named “deeply transformative months for the auction marketplace.”
The stone was from a greater, 271-carat rough diamond identified at the Victor Mine in Ontario, Canada. Credit score: Sotheby’s
“Diamonds of this caliber attract desire effectively beyond the common pool of collectors,” Wong included. “This progressive sale would seem to us the very best way to introduce this extraordinary diamond to the planet in the recent circumstances where travel is limited and act as a fantastic indicator of the vitality of the demand.”