A spectacular 88.22-carat, D-colour, flawless, Type IIA, oval brilliant diamond – “perfect” according to every critical criterion – will lead Sotheby’s Hong Kong Sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite on April 2.

The extraordinary gem, which is one of only three oval diamonds over 50 Carats to appear at auction in “living memory,” has a pre-sale estimate of HK$88 million to HK$100 million (around US$11.2 million to US$12.7 million), according to the auction house.

David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman, International Jewellery Division, described the stone as “breathtaking.”

Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, commented, “When you think that one tonne of mined earth yields less than a carat of diamond, and that high-quality diamonds over 10 carats are a rarity, the discovery of a 242-carat rough, of gem quality and exceptional size, is nothing short of a miracle.”.

The 242-carat rough stone, which yielded the diamond was discovered in Botswana in Jwaneng, a mine owned in partnership by De Beers and the government of Botswana and known for producing roughs of the highest quality.

Following its discovery, the rough was cut and polished over a period of months to produce a symmetrical and striking oval brilliant diamond.

In April 2018, a private collector acquired – through Sotheby’s Diamonds, a retail boutique specialising in the world’s finest diamonds – an extraordinarily rare 102.34-carat white diamond – the only known round brilliant diamond over 100 carats to have achieved perfection by all critical criteria: Colour, clarity, cut and carat.

A month later, in a Geneva auction, two highly impressive white diamonds, also D colour flawless and Type IIA – a 51.71-carat round diamond and a 50.39-carat oval diamond – sold above their high estimates for US$9.3 million and US$8.1 million respectively.