A 118-carat, flawless-colored diamond has hit the display shelf at Sotheby’s auction house in New York, and interested buyers will have a chance to cast their bids in October.
The auction house says it will be putting the white diamond up for bid in Hong Kong on Oct. 7, and expectations for its selling price are that it will prove record-setting. The Daily Mail reported the stone has been cut into an oval the size of egg, and Sotheby’s already is billing it as “the greatest white diamond ever to appear at auction.”
Auctioneers guess it will sell somewhere between $28 million and $35 million. That’s significantly more than the current white-diamond sale record of $27 million. That gem was pear-shaped and 101 carats and sold in May from Christie’s in Geneva, The Daily Mail reported.
The Sotheby’s diamond comes from South African mines. It was discovered in 2011 and shaped from a rough stone that came in at 299 carats. The buyer will have the privilege of naming it, The Daily Mail said.
Also part of Sotheby’s upcoming auction is a 7.59-carat “fancy vivid” blue diamond named “Premier Blue.” That stone is expected to fetch at least $19 million.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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