DUBAI // A rare 100-carat diamond will travel to Dubai for a preview before the jewel goes under the hammer in New York next month, where predictions suggest it could fetch up to $25 million (Dh92m).
It is one of just five diamonds over 100 carats and of comparable quality to have been offered at auction, according to auctioneers Sotheby’s.
Diamonds of this exceptional quality are incredibly rare and are considered “perfect”, the auction house said.
The original weighed more than 200 carats and had been mined by De Beers in southern Africa. The current owner of the diamond spent more than a year studying, cutting and polishing the rough diamond before delivering the stone to the auction house.
“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,” said Gary Schuler, head of Sotheby’s jewellery department in New York.
“This 100.2-carat diamond is the definition of perfection. 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.”
The stone will be exhibited in Dubai, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London and Doha before heading back to New York for an exhibition beginning on April 17. It will be the highlight of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in the city on April 21.
Lisa Hubbard, chairman of North and South America for the auction house’s international jewellery division, described it as “the rarest object of natural beauty”.
It could be worn as a pendant or mounted in a designed item of jewellery, she said.
Sotheby’s sold the first 100-carat perfect diamond at an auction in 1990. The price per carat for these diamonds has risen from $125,000 to $260,000 from the first auction until the most recent, in 2013, the auction house said.
The stone’s details include “100.2-carat, D colour, Internally Flawless, Type IIa stone”, which, for the uninitiated, means it has the clearest colour, without any blemishes on being magnified and is free from imperfections.
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