Sotheby’s Diamonds unveils ‘exceptionally’ rare diamond

Auctioneers Sotheby’s Diamonds celebrated the first anniversary of its New Bond Street salon by unveiling a rare 102.34 carat white diamond.

According to the group the stone is the only known round brilliant-cut diamond over 100 carats, and has been labelled as ‘perfect’ in colour, clarity and cut.

The diamond is D colour, the highest grade for a white diamond. As with the Cullinan I and Koh-i-noor diamonds, which are part of the British Crown Jewels, the stone is part of the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all gem diamonds, known as Type IIa.

Patti Wong, founder and chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds, said: “This stone is over 100 carats of flawless perfection. In the course of my long career, which has brought me close to some of the greatest stones the earth has ever yielded, I have not encountered anything quite like this.

“With its outstanding weight, its perfect colour, clarity and cut, it is a masterpiece of nature brought to life by human hand, blazing with a brilliant firework-like display of almost every colour on the spectrum – mesmerising to behold. It is a huge privilege to mark the first anniversary of our London salon with the exhibition of such a superlative stone.”