London--On the occasion of the first anniversary of the opening of Sotheby’s Diamonds, the auction house’s retail boutique on New Bond Street, Sotheby’s is unveiling a very rare diamond for sale.
It’s offering a 102.34-carat, Type IIa, D color, flawless, round brilliant diamond.
Sotheby’s said the GIA-graded stone is the largest round, D color, flawless diamond on record, and the only round brilliant over 100 carats with perfect color and clarity.
The auction house displayed the stone to the public Feb. 8 and 9 at the New Bond Street salon.
De Beers mined the original rough diamond, which weighed 425 carats, in Botswana about two years ago, then Diacore cut and polished the stone in Johannesburg and New York over a period of six months.
Though Sotheby’s isn’t publicly disclosing the exact asking price, a spokesperson for the auction house told National Jeweler it expects the diamond to sell for more than any of the seven diamonds over 100 carats sold at auction, of which Sotheby’s sold five.