A 118.28-carat D-flawless diamond fetched $30.06 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale Monday. It is a world record price for any white diamond at auction.
The unmounted, oval-shaped diamond is the largest white diamond ever sold at auction and the largest oval D-flawless diamond in the world as graded by the Gemological Institute of America. GIA graded the diamond, reportedly about the size of an egg, as D color, flawless clarity, with excellent polish and symmetry. The diamond was also graded as a Type IIa, making it among the most chemically pure type of diamond with exceptional optical transparency.
The diamond was cut from a 299 carat rough diamond discovered in 2011 from a mine in Southern Africa.
However, there was a disappointment for the evening as a 7.59-carat round fancy vivid blue diamond failed to sell. Known as the Premier Blue, this brilliant-cut internally flawless gem is the largest round fancy vivid blue diamond ever graded by the GIA. Sotheby’s said the round brilliant cut is rarely used in colored diamonds due to the high waste involved in the cutting process. The diamond is mounted on a platinum ring and surrounded by brilliant-cut pink diamonds together weighing approximately 1.70 carats.
The auction held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre took in nearly $95.5 million, making it the highest total for a sale of jewelry in Asia.
In addition to diamonds, jadeite was very popular during the sale. The top item in this category was a double-strand jadeite bead necklace that sold for more than $5.4 million.
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