One might think that a world and its pandemic-stricken economy won’t be able to accommodate the beauty, brilliance, and grandeur of a flawless 102-caratdiamondbut that’s hardly the case. While the pandemic has plunged the sales of everyday jewelry the wealthy have actually benefited from stronger stock markets and are eager to invest in the ultimate hard-asset.Sotheby’sdescribes this 102.39-carat D Color Flawless Oval Diamond, as “the size of a lollipop,” and is expected to fetch $10 million to $30 million. The auction house that’s no stranger to the finest objects of our ρłɑɴet has only sold seven flawless white diamonds of more than 100 carats, the current variety being the second-largest oval diamond of its kind ever sold at auction. Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s jewelry department in New York commented, “One hundred-carat diamonds, as a rule, are exceedingly rare, and one hundred-carat D flawless are even more rare”. Astonishing times, we live in, an object of this magnitude will go under the hammer online, setting a record for themost expensivepiece of jewelry ever sold online. It’s a big jump from a pair of fancy blue and pink diamond earrings that sold for $6 million online in 2016 to almost $30 million in 2020.
The 102-carat stone was cut from a 271-carat ɾօυɢҺ diamond that was discovered in the Victor Mine in Ontario in 2018 belongs to an elite subgroup of diamonds known as “Type IIa,” which boast the highest level of transparency. The 102-carat diamond will be sold at a live auction in Hong Kong on Oct. 5, but it will also be open to online bidders starting on Tuesday.
