Sotheby’s said Thursday it will auction a 102-carat, flawless white oval diamond in Hong Kong next month, and expects it could fetch as much as $30 million.
The Oct. 5 sale will be just the eighth time that a “D color,” flawless white diamond larger than 100 carats has been sold at such an event, the auctioneer said.
The rock was unveiled during a preview in New York City on Wednesday.
“This stunning diamond is the best of the best when it comes to exceptional white diamonds and it is difficult to overstate its rarity and beauty,” Gary Schuler, Sotheby’s worldwide chairman of jewelry, said in a statement.
The diamond was discovered at the De Beers Group’s Victor Mine in remote northern Canada in 2018. It’s the second-largest oval diamond of its kind to be offered at auction. The largest, a 118-carat diamond, brought a record $30.8 million seven years ago.
Next month’s auction will be held “without reserve,” meaning the highest bid will win regardless of the intrinsic value of the diamond itself — a first in auction history for any high-value jewel or work of art.
