Christie's to auction 'perfect' 101 ct diamond

On 15 May 2013 Christie’s will auction in Geneva a pear-shaped perfect diamond weighing 101.73 carats. Offered for sale for the first time, this sensational gemstone is not only one of the largest pear-shaped diamonds known to date, it is also one of the world’s most perfect diamonds: a D colour, Type IIA Flawless gem. The rare brilliance and inner limpidity is only found in the chemically pure Type IIA diamonds, which account for less than 2% of the world’s diamond production. Christie's said the rough stone weighed 236 carats when it was extracted from the Jwaneng mine (DeBeers) in Botswana and required 21 months to polish.

In November 2012, Christie's sold the cushion-shaped, colourless, 76.02-carat Archduke Joseph Diamond for a world record-setting $21.5 million.