An exceptional oval diamond will lead Sotheby’s Hong Kong Sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite on 2 April 2019.

The 88.22-carat, D Colour, Flawless, Type Ila, Oval Brilliant Diamond (est: US$11.2-12.7 million) is one of only three oval diamonds of over 50 carats to appear at auction in living memory, and the largest to be auctioned in over five years.

The last large oval diamond D Colour, Flawless, Type IIa, weighing 50.39 carats, sold in 2018 for $8.1 million (or $161,219 per carat), while another similar large oval diamond, weighing 118.28 carats sold for $30.8 million or $260,252 per carat in 2013 (still holding the world record price per carat for a white diamond).

Describing the stone, David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman, International Jewellery Division, said: “For those who have had the chance to see the diamond, one adjective comes back: “breath-taking”. Barely any diamonds of this weight are known to possess the same exceptional qualities of purity and perfection as this remarkable stone which is so full of fire and blinding brilliance.”

As with the Koh-i-noor diamond (also oval) and the Cullinan I, which are part of the British Crown Jewels, the stone belongs to the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all gem diamonds, known as Type IIa. Diamonds in this group are the most chemically pure type of diamond and often have exceptional optical transparency. The stone yielded from a 242-carat rough discovered in Botswana in the mine of Jwaneng, a mine owned in partnership by De Beers and the government of Botswana and known for producing roughs of the highest quality.