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A ‘flawless’ 100-carat diamond is expected to fetch between $19m (£12.7m) and $25m (£16.7m) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The diamond has been described as ‘perfect’ and joins an elite group of just five comparable-quality diamonds over 100 carats to have ever been sold at auction worldwide.
The D colour, ‘internally flawless’, type IIa stone in an emerald-cut will be the highlight at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York today, April 21.
Gary Schuler, head of Sotheby’s jewellery department in New York, said: “This 100.20 carat diamond is the definition of perfection. The colour is whiter than white, it is free of any internal imperfections, and so transparent that I can only compare it to a pool of icy water.
“It is the first true emerald-cut diamond over 100 carats to be offered at auction – the most classic of cuts, quietly elegant and very contemporary.”
Since 1990, when Sotheby’s sold the first 100-carat ‘perfect diamond’ at auction, until the most recent example in 2013, the price per carat for these stones has increased from $125,000 (£84,000) to $260,000 (£174,000).
The original rough – weighing over 200 carats – was mined by De Beers in southern Africa.
