Super diamond auctions are back. This time it will be Sotheby’s to offer a rare stone for sale: a large 102.39 carat oval D Color Flawless diamond. Only seven Internally Flawless or Flawless D-color white diamonds over 100 carats were sold at auction, the latest of these for 11.9 million dollars.. This is the eighth. The diamond will be offered “without reserve” on October 5 in Hong Kong: it means that the winning bid is the highest bid, regardless of its amount or the intrinsic value of the diamond itself. It is an unprecedented move and marks the first time in auction history that a diamond of this caliber, or indeed any work of art or object of this importance and intrinsic value, has been offered in this way.
The gem is perfect by every critical criterion and has reached the highest rankings under each of the standards by which the quality of a diamond is judged (the famous four C’s). The diamond is of color D (the highest grade for a white diamond). It is also exceptionally clear (it is completely flawless, both internally and externally), and has excellent luster and symmetry. This gem belongs to the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all diamonds, known as Type IIa.
It has been a profoundly transformative few months for the auction market. We have been at the forefront of change in the Fine Art and Watches categories, with new and pioneering auction formats, and this season we want to extend this approach to our jewelry sales. The economy offers many opportunities to do things differently: demand showed enormous resilience during the first part of the year and we believe it is time to let the market speak. Diamonds of this caliber attract interest far beyond the traditional pool of collectors. This groundbreaking sale seems like the best way to introduce this exceptional diamond to the world in the current circumstances where travel is limited and serves as a great indicator of the vitality of demand.
Patti Wong, president of Sotheby’s Asia
Diamonds in this group are the chemically purest type of diamond and often have exceptional optical clarity. The diamond was cut from a 271-carat rough stone, mined in the Victor mine, Ontario, Canada in 2018. After its discovery, the rough diamond was cut and polished within a year by Diacore, the world’s leading specialists in researching, cutting and polishing extraordinary diamonds, to best enhance their brilliance, fire and sparkle.
This stunning diamond is the best of the best when it comes to exceptional white diamonds and it’s hard to overstate its rarity and beauty. Never before has the appreciation for world-class diamonds been so acute in the world and more and more people have come to realize that something billions of years old and the size of a lollipop can hold so much value a self-portrait by Rembrandt. or a Basquiat. The broader understanding that, being the hardest material on earth, this wonder of nature will survive us for another million years is certainly another factor in the strength of the demand.
Gary Schuler, world president of jewelry
