An eye-popping 100-carat diamond was sold in New York. A gem is among the most expensive natural minerals sold recently. The lot was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York. The initial cost of the diamond was $19 million but during the auction the price has increased to $22.1 million. A buyer's name is kept in secret but it is known that the diamond was purchased via a telephone bid. A distinguishing characteristic of the gem is its flawless color. "The color is whiter than white, it is free of any internal perfections, and so transparent that I can only compare it to a pool of water," the head of Sotheby's jewellery department in New York Gary Schuler explained. According to representatives of De Beers company, the emerald-cut diamond, which is about the size of a walnut, was mined in Southern Africa. Despite the uniqueness of the color and the fact that in the last 25 years, this jewel was only the sixth diamond weighing more than 100 carats, it is failed to become the biggest gem ever sold. That record belongs to a 118-carat diamond, which went for $30.6 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2013. However, it is not the limit. Up to date, a flawless pink diamond, dubbed the "Pink Star," weighing 59.6 carats, set a world record price for a gemstone at auction. It was sold for $83.02 million at Sotheby's Geneva in 2013. Later, it turned out that the buyer could not pay for the gem.
