A flawless 88-carat oval diamond was sold to a private Japanese collector for nearly 14 million U.S. dollars at Sotheby's Hong Kong Sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite.
The walnut-sized diamond is said to be D-color,.. meaning the whitest for colorless diamonds, and 'flawless',... referring to no inclusions inside or on the surface.
And the bidding battle was done and dusted in under ten minutes.
Three clients competed for the "lucky stone", and a Japanese buyer on the bid to name it after his oldest daughter -- Manami Star.
The gem is one of just three oval diamonds over 50 carats to have appeared at auctions in recent memory.