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A rare 11.15-carat diamond, which is said to be the "purest and pinkest" precious stone to appear at a public sale, is scheduled to make a stop in Dubai prior to its Sotheby's auction later this year.
Dubbed the Williamson Pink Star, the gem is expected to sell for around $21 million at a single-lot auction in Hong Kong on October 5, Sotheby's said.
The cushion-shaped stone is one of only two internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamonds of more than ten carats ever to come to auction. It was unveiled on Wednesday at Sotheby's London.
It will then go on a world tour, starting in Dubai, Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong, the auction house said, without revealing more details.
According to Sotheby's, the diamond is a "natural wonder of nature".
In April 2017, Sotheby's sold at an auction a 59.60-carat oval mixed-cut diamond, the CTF Pink Star, for $71.2 million. The diamond continues to hold the world auction record for any diamond gemstone or jewel.
"The Williamson Pink Star is only outsized by the record-breaking CTF Pink Star," Sotheby's said.
Early this year, a 1086.10-carat rough diamond sourced from South Africa was sold at an auction in Dubai for an undisclosed amount. It was the largest gem quality rough diamond to be sold at the Dubai Diamond Exchange.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
