Introducing the Harry Legacy Diamond

Christie’s auction house has announced that jeweler Harry Winston has bought a new flawless and colorless 101.73-carat diamond. The prestigious jeweler acquired the huge gemstone for a record $26.7 million .

Diamonds of this caliber are named by the first ever purchaser. Harry Winston decided to name the diamond the “Harry Legacy.”

The legendary Harry Winston was an American jeweler. He was the son of immigrants who started a small jewelry business in New York City. He owned the famous Hope diamond for a decade before donating it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958.

The magnificent diamond was extracted from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana. In the rough, the diamond weighed in at 236 carats. It was carefully sculpted for 21 months. The diamond was then graded by the American Institute of Gemology. They handed the Harry Legacy diamond the top colorless grade “D” and top grade of “flawless” for clarity.

According to Christie’s, the diamond is characterized by its “absolute symmetry.”To compare, the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond of the same D-color category has a 33-carat weight and was sold at auction in New York City in December of 2011 for $8.8 million.

Harry Winston jewelers was purchased by Swatch, the world’s leading watchmaker for $1.0 billion last March. This is the company’s first major purchase since acquiring the renowned brand.

This past Wednesday’s sale of the new iconic Harry Legacy diamond sets a record as the highest price ever paid at auction for a flawless colorless diamond. Christie’s admits that they were hoping to rake in closer to $30 million for the sale of the new diamond, which is the largest of its kind ever to go under the hammer.

Christie’s of Geneva conducted the world’s greatest auctions from the 17th to 19th centuries. Still going strong, the auction house has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salesrooms.