US$15.7m sale of diamond shows appetite for safe- haven assets among savvy investors, jeweller says

A 102-carat white diamond described as ‘completely flawless’ was sold for HK$122 million to an unnamed bidder at a Sotheby’s online auction in Hong Kong

The price is a bargain, says jeweller 77 Diamonds’ managing director, and shows the demand for alternative safe-haven assets at a time of economic uncertainty

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A model holds a 102.39-carat flawless oval diamond sold at a Sotheby’s online auction in Hong Kong for the equivalent of US$15.7 million on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:03am, 6 Oct 2020Updated: 11:03am, 6 Oct 2020

An exceedingly rare 102-carat flawless white diamond sold for US$15.7 million at an online auction in Hong Kong on Monday evening.

Described as “completely flawless” by auctioneer Sotheby’s, the 102.39-carat stone went to an unnamed telephone bidder for HK$122 million in an auction held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The buyer of this diamond has bagged a bargain,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of online jeweller 77 Diamonds.

During a time of economic uncertainty, he said, “savvy investors are currently falling over themselves to acquire alternative safe haven assets like diamonds, property and gold”.

A model holds the 102.39-carat flawless oval diamond bought by an unnamed telephone bidder for HK$122 million at auction in Hong Kong on Monday. Photo: AFP

Only seven other white diamonds bigger than 100 carats and of the same quality have ever gone under the hammer.

The stone was sold without a reserve price, meaning the diamond went to the highest bidder and did not need to meet a minimum threshold, the first time in auction history that a diamond of this calibre has been offered that way.