The 303.1-carat “Golden Canary” – the world’s largest internally flawless diamond – sold for $12.4 million at at Sotheby’s New York’s Magnificent Jewels Sales. It fell short of its $15 million high estimate but still became the third most valuable yellow diamond ever sold at auction. The auction raked in $50 million, with 81% of lots sold, according to IDEX Online
The 303.1-carat fancy deep brownish-yellow stone was taking its “rightful place among the pantheon of superlative stones to be sold at auction by Sotheby’s,” said Quig Bruning, head of jewelry for Sotheby’s Americas. Bidding started at just $1, “a deliberate move by the auction house to provoke fierce bidding,” as per the report.
The Golden Canary Diamond was re-cut from the shield-shaped 407-carat Incomparable Diamond “into a more traditional pear shape.” The original rough, an 890-carat monstrosity found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1980s, was initially discarded as rubble by miners. It was later “‘rescued’ by a young girl playing with her friends,” according to the report.
