“SCULPTED LIKE A work of art,” exclaims the head of jewellery at Christie’s Switzerland as he describes the 101.73-carat diamond his department is auctioning later this year.

“Just as a great artist is able to see a masterpiece in a block of marble, a perfect diamond is the result of the skill and vision of a master cutter who is able to uncover beauty from a rough gem,” continues Rahul Kadakia.

The auction house in Geneva is to sell the perfect pear-shaped diamond on 15 May this year. As demand for fine gems has surged in recent years, it is expected to draw bids of more than $20 million.

The Gemological Institute of America has given the diamond top grades in both colour (D) and clarity (flawless). According to Christie’s, it also benefits from “rare brilliance and inner limpidity that is only to be found in the chemically pure Type IIA diamonds, which account for less than 2 per cent of the world’s diamond population”.

The flawless tag is given to no more than 600 diamonds that finish as polished stones of between just one and two carats. “Above ten carats this figure decreases dramatically so at 101.73 carats, it is not only an exceptional rarity but a grand event in the world of gems and jewellery.”

It is the largest diamond ever to be put up for sale at auction and its buyer will be allowed to name it. Well that’s the least (s)he could get for parting with $20 million, no?

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