Perfect 100 carat diamond sold for $22.1 million

The incredible 100 carat diamond was always going to fetch a huge sum at auction. When Sotheby's announced the sale, it pointed out that it was one of only six diamonds ever to have been sold which were classed as perfect and weighed over 100 carats. It said that the diamond would fetch at least $19 million, and it was right.

The diamond was Emerald-cut, internally flawless and exceptionally rare. In fact it was the largest Emerald-cut perfect diamond ever to sell at auction - and took a year to cut and polish. The gem went up for auction, and immediately feverish bidding broke out. It was finally sold in just three minutes to an anonymous buyer. The selling price was in the middle of the gem's estimate of $19-$25 million.

Lisa Hubbard, Chairman, North and South America, Sotheby's International Jewellery Division, commented: "This diamond is exceptional in every sense of the word, and we were thrilled to see it achieve such a strong result."

Records

It failed to become the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction. This title remains with the Pink Star, which sold two years ago in Geneva for $83 million.

Neither did it become the most expensive white diamond ever sold - which is still the 118.28 carat gem that sold for $30.6 million in Hong Kong in 2013.

There's even a good chance that it might not be the happiest a diamond seller has been this week. That title may well belong to Kristen and Jason Serata, who won a diamond valued at $7,500 in a charity raffle, and immediately fell out over what to do with it.

After featuring on a Freakonomics radio podcast, the couple agreed to sell it, give half the proceeds to charity, and then decide what to do with the rest. Their diamond sold on ebay.com today, with a final price of $5,950. Given that they told the programme there were times they wished they had never won the diamond, it's not a bad ending to the story.

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