Editor’s Note
This article reports on the recent auction of a rare diamond in Hong Kong, which fetched 121 million Hong Kong dollars. The gem was sold by a private Japanese collector.
HONG KONG (dpa) – A rare diamond was auctioned in Hong Kong for 121 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 13.3 million euros.
The private collector from Japan, who won the bid, named the white oval diamond, weighing 102.39 carats, “Maiko Star” after his second daughter, according to the auction house Sotheby’s.
This follows an expensive family tradition: last year, the same collector purchased another valuable diamond at Sotheby’s and named it “Manami Star” after his eldest daughter. According to the auction house, the buyer placed his bid over the phone. Other bids were also made online.
The diamond, discovered in a Canadian mine in 2018, was only the eighth of its kind to be auctioned worldwide. The previous seven also all fetched double-digit million-dollar amounts in US dollars – up to the equivalent of more than 25 million euros.