Christie's Images Limited 2013 via Bloomberg A flawless diamond before it is cut into a 101.73 carat shape. The gem was sold in Geneva and the buyer can name the stone.

Christie’s Images Limited 2013: 101-Carat Diamond Sold for $26.7M
A flawless diamond before it is cut into a 101.73 carat shape. The gem was sold in Geneva and the buyer can name the stone.

Colorless & Flawless 101-carat Diamond Sells at Auction for $26.7 Million

A diamond originating from the Jwaneng mine of Botswana has been sold at auction in Christie’s International located in Geneva Switzerland for $26.7 million Swiss francs ($27.5 USD).

The weight of the precious stone is 101.73-carats and is the largest colorless and flawless stone of its kind.

“A perfect diamond commands a perfect price,” Christie’s trumpeted on Twitter of the record sale price for the largest D-color flawless diamond ever offered at auction — a whopping 101.73 carats that took 21 months to polish.

The diamond was purchased by the Harry Winston Company which makes jewelry and watches.

“This stone is the highest quality and it still will be in 40 years’ time,” Kieran McCarthy, director of the London-based jeweler Wartski, said in an interview before the sale.

It will now bear the name “Winston Legacy”. The stunning pear-shaped diamond was carved out of much larger 236-carat rough diamond and took skilled gemologists twenty-one months to polish. Ironically, the stone was found in a mine whose name means “place of small stones” in the Setswana language. Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, investors have been steadily placing their attention on more “portable” forms of wealth such as diamonds – specifically rare diamonds.

Rare diamonds are known as such for their level of flawlessness.

The colorless “Winston Legacy” is still small by comparison to the world’s largest colored diamond which has a weight of 530.20-carats. That diamond is owned by the England’s royal family.

Initial expectations were that the diamond would sell for $19 million Swiss francs. The final price broke the record set only last year for a colorless diamond which sold for $20.4 million francs ($21.5 USD).

Source:

Swatch’s Harry Winston Buys Diamond for $26.7 Million
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-15/biggest-colorless-diamond-sets-record-27-24-million.html

101-Carat Diamond Sold for $26.7M
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/weird/101-Carat-Diamond-Sold-for-267M-at-Christies–207609751.html