Whopper diamond to go under the hammer

ONE OF the largest diamonds to appear at auction goes under the hammer in Geneva next month and could make $15 million (€10.6 million). Sotheby’s is auctioning the Sun-Drop Diamond, which was discovered in South Africa last year.

While pure diamonds are transparent and colourless, the precious stones do occur in a variety of colours, caused by chemical impurities. Diamonds of an intense colour are known as fancy-colour diamonds.

The Sun-Drop Diamond is a 110.03-carat whopper and has been graded fancy vivid yellow – the highest colour grading for a yellow diamond – by the Gemological Institute of America. The world-record auction price for a fancy vivid yellow diamond was achieved by a marquise-cut stone, weighing 13.83 carats, which sold for $3,302,500 at Sotheby’s New York in April 1997.

The Sun-Drop Diamond will be auctioned on November 15th and is estimated at between $11m and €15m (€7.75m and €10.6m).

David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery department, said “this stone has immense presence and is truly stunning”.

Last year, Sotheby’s sold the Graff Pink, a fancy intense pink diamond weighing 24.78 carats, for just over $46m (€32.5m). This established a world-record auction price for a diamond or jewel.