Harry Winston paid US$26.7 million for one of the world’s most perfect diamonds, a 101.73 carat D flawless pear shape, at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on May 15.
The price, US$254,400 per carat, set a new world record for a colourless diamond sold at auction.
Rahul Kadakia, head of jewellery Christie’s Switzerland and Americas, said Harry Winston has acquired the most perfect diamond ever offered for sale at auction.
The diamond has now been renamed ‘Winston Legacy’ in honour of the jewellery company’s founder’s “tradition of buying and selling only the very best”.
Kadakia said the diamond “is in its scale, quality, and rarity one of the most beautiful ‘white’ diamonds Christie’s has ever had the honour of offering for sale”.
He said the diamond meets every criteria of perfection as it has been graded by the Gemological Institute of America with the best colour, D, and the best clarity, Flawless.
“Its absolute symmetry is a tour-de-force, demonstrating the exceptional skills needed to achieve such a perfect gem,” he said.
“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 production.”
The diamond started its life as a 236 carat rough diamond found at the Jwaneng Mine in Botswana.