World’s greatest white diamond to be auctioned in HK

Could fetch up to US$35 million.

A 118.28 carat white diamond is to be auctioned in Hong Kong in October, said Sotheby’s. The British auction house described the egg-shaped gem as the "greatest" of its kind to ever appear at auction, and estimated it could fetch from US$28 million to US$35 million in the auction.

Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman of Sotheby's Asia, said the D color flawless gem will be the "greatest white diamond to be sold at auction.”

The white diamond is a new stone discovered in a deep mine in an undisclosed southern African country in 2011. It weighed 299 carats as a rough stone.

Sotheby’s said the sale in October could exceed last year’s previous records at a diamond auction when a 101.73 carat diamond was sold for US$26.7 million.

A "Premier Blue Diamond" at 7.59 carats will also be auctioned off in October and could fetch up to US$19 million.

Hong Kong has become a center for jewelry auctions due to growing wealth in China and other parts of the region, and the region's increasing appetite for art.