Described as “perfect according to every critical criterion,” an 88.22-carat diamond will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, with the auction house expecting the oval-cut gem to fetch as much as HK$100 million (about US$12.7 million).
It is, as the poet Beyoncé once said, “flawless … goddamn, goddamn.”
According to an announcement released by Sotheby’s yesterday, the stone is one of only three oval-cut diamonds with a weight greater than 50 carats “to appear at auction in living memory.” And did we mention it’s flawless?
The diamond will be featured at the auction house’s Sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite on April 2.
Patti Wong, chairwoman of Sotheby’s Asia, noted in yesterday’s release that “one ton of mined earth yields less than a carat of diamond, and that high quality diamonds over 10 carats are a rarity.” That being the case, she continued, the 88.22-carat behemoth is nothing short of “a wonder of nature.”
The diamond was discovered at the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, and belongs to the sub-group IIa, which comprises less than 2 percent of all diamonds and is reserved for only the most chemically pure gems.
The gem isn’t the largest flawless diamond to ever be auctioned. In fact, Sotheby’s auctioned off a technically flawless 102-carat round-cut diamond last year to the tune of some US$26.63 million, according to Barron’s.
Sotheby’s release helpfully points out, for any prospective Chinese buyers, that the number ‘8’ is considered lucky, and ’88’ — like the number of carats, get it? — “is believed to bring good wishes in abundance.”
Though something tells us, if you’ve got HK$100 million laying around to spend on a diamond, you’ve probably already had plenty of good wishes.
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