NEW YORK — A “perfect” diamond said to be so large that it draws
awe-struck people across a room has sold for $22 million at a Sotheby’s
auction in New York.
The 100-carat, emerald cut, D color, internally flawless diamond is
the largest of its clarity and cut to ever be shown at auction.
“People everywhere have been drawn to it from across the room and
they are in awe of its size, particularly when they put it on their
hand,” said Gary Schuler, the head of Sotheby’s jewelery department in
New York, before the sale. “They can’t believe there’s a diamond this
pure of such impressive scale.”
Only six flawless diamonds over 100 carats have ever been sold at
auction, including the one sold on Tuesday, according to Sotheby’s. The
others include an 118.28 carat oval diamond that sold for $30.6 million
at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction in 2013, a record for a white diamond.
‘Highly-important’ diamonds
The massive gem led the house’s Magnificent Jewels auction, which
included a collection of Kashmir sapphire jewelery and several Art Deco
pieces from Cartier. The entire collection, more than 350 pieces, raised
more than $65 million — a record for a jewelry auction at Sotheby’s New
York.
“It was encouraging to see the impact of private collectors
throughout the day, including at the highest end of our sale: eight of
our top 10 pieces were purchased by private individuals,” Schuler said.
Online buyers contributed “heavily” to the final total, he added,
Sotheby’s said the demand for “highly-important” diamonds was evident
in other lots. The second-highest price of the day was $3.3 million for
a 22.30 carat diamond ring.
Diamonds classed as flawless — free of internal defects under intense
magnification — are extremely rare, especially at larger sizes.
The rough diamond, which was mined by De Beers in southern Africa,
originally weighed over 200 carats, and was carefully refined for more
than a year before it got to its current size and cut.
“A classic emerald cut like this one allows for a wide expanse of
pure material to be viewed without the distraction of a more complex
facet arrangement,” Schuler said before the sale.
“It’s almost like looking at the glimmer of a reflecting pool.”
