De Beers has sold a giant diamond for almost 21 million dollars
The precious stone had been found at De Beers Ontario operations in 2018.
Sotheby's sold a rare 102.39-carat white 102.39-carat oval diamond at auction in Hong Kong for HK $ 122 million, the equivalent of $ 20.9 million. The oval-shaped diamond was mined at the De Beers Victor diamond mine in Northern Ontario in 2018 - the same year the mine closed. The gemstone was part of a 271-carat rough diamond that took more than a year to cut and polish by Diacore, a multinational with manufacturing facilities in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and New York. The flawless diamond has been classified in the category D color type IIA due to its chemical purity and exceptional transparency. Sotheby's said the diamond was acquired by an unnamed collector in Japan who named the stone "Maiko Star" after his second daughter after winning it by calling the Hong Kong auction house location. Sotheby's said the diamond was on sale with no reserve price, the first for much of its value and importance, and that numerous bids were made, including a bid for the Canadian equivalent of $ 14.6 million, the highest bid ever made by was submitted to an online bidder for a jewel. Only seven other white diamonds of more than 100 carats and of similar quality were auctioned, five of them at Sotheby's. Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby's Asia, said in a press release that "the extraordinary gem did not require the help of a pre-sale estimate or reserve to reach its rightful price - just the instinctive desire of collectors to own one of the greatest treasures on earth. The sale is a testimony "not only to the importance of this diamond, but also to the diamond market in a broader sense".