A white diamond billed as the world’s largest, rarest and most valuable D-Flawless is expected to fetch a world record price when it goes on sale at Sotheby’s in London this month.
Sotheby’s auction house says the 102.34-carat, D-Flawless, Type IIA round brilliant diamond “is the only known round brilliant-cut diamond over 100 carats perfect according to every critical criterion” — carats, color, clarity and cut.
The diamond was cut from a 425-carat rough mined by the De Beers group in Botswana. The cutting process took over six months and required the diamond to be transported between Johannesburg and New York. According to Patti Wong, founder and chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds, the diamond cutter “approached the task with the precision of Michelangelo”.
102 Carat Diamond
The diamond went on display Thursday at Sotheby’s London showroom and is being offered for private sale. It’s expected to fetch a price “considerably higher” than the $33.7 million auction record for a white diamond.
Following that sale, Sotheby’s in London revealed a pair of white diamonds that will cross the block in the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on May 15. Both gems—a 51.71-carat, round brilliant-cut diamond and a 50.39-carat oval diamond—were sourced from Botswana. Both are D Color, Flawless, and Type IIA.
102 Carat Diamond
