Christie’s to auction off ‘perfect’ diamond

British auctioneer Christie’s announced Wednesday it will sell off a “perfect” pear-shaped colourless diamond in May.

The symmetrical flawless gem weighs 101.73 carats — one of the biggest of its sort — and is predicted to become one the world’s most famous diamonds.

Christie’s said the rough stone weighed 236 carats when it was extracted from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana.

The gem was graded with the best colour, D, the best clarity, flawless, and the best purity, Type IIa.

The auction is set for May 15 in Geneva. Prior to the sale, the gem will be shown in New York and Hong Kong during April.

In November 2012, Christie’s sold the cushion-shaped, colourless, 76.02-carat Archduke Joseph Diamond for a world record-setting $21.5 million.

Image courtesy Christie’s