Secret buyer lands SA-mined $22.1m rock

23 April 2015 - 02:11 By Reuters, Staff reporter

A 100-carat diamond mined in South Africa by De Beers sold for $22.1-million in New York this week. The perfect, classic, emerald-cut, D colour diamond, the size of a walnut, was purchased by an anonymous buyer via a telephone bid. It was snapped up within three minutes of bidding opening, said auction firm Sotheby's.The pre-sale estimate was $19-million to $25-million.Gary Schuler, the head of Sotheby's jewellery department in New York, said the gem is the definition of perfection."The colour is whiter than white, it is free of any internal imperfections, and so transparent that I can only compare it to a pool of water," he explained.The $22.1-million price fell short of the $30.6-million world record price paid in 2013 for a 118.28-carat diamond in Hong Kong.Sotheby's said only six perfect diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have been sold at auction in the last 25 years.A flawless pink diamond, dubbed the "Pink Star", set a world record price for a gemstone at auction when it sold for $83.02-million in Geneva in 2013. Schuler said the distinguishing characteristic of the huge diamond sold on Tuesday was its size and beautiful shape.The stone originally weighed more than 200 carats and the owner spent more than a year perfecting its cut and polish.Sotheby's said that from 1990 to 2013 the price per carat for a 100-carat perfect diamond had risen from $125000 to $260000.The diamond was the top selling item in a sale of more than 350 jewels that were expected to sell for a total of more than $50-million...

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