|
Lucky diamond put on display
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-21 15:26
Visitors appreciate a porcelain vase at an auction preview
at the Garden Hotel yesterday. The auction will be held on November 2 in
Hong Kong. | Sotheby's put a monster
diamond weighing 88.88 carats on display at the Garden Hotel yesterday.
The internally flawless, D color diamond is "the biggest and most expensive
one to appear in China," said Kaye Shu, the auction house's deputy director for
China and Southeast Asia.
Sotheby's will auction the stone off on
November 2 in Hong Kong.
The stone comes from South Africa's Premier
Mines, home to some of the world's most famous diamonds, including several used
in Britain's crown jewels.
The original stone reportedly weighed 150
carats, but was cut down to its current size because eight is a very lucky
number in Chinese, and mainland buyers are expected to make up a large portion
of bidders at the sale.
"We have more and more Chinese mainland buyers at
our auctions in Hong Kong," Shu said, estimating that 30 percent of bidders at
the sale will be from the mainland.
Wang Jie, Sotheby's chief
representative in Shanghai, estimates the stone will sell for HK$4.2 million
(US$538,000).
The preview, which ends today, also includes some Cartier
jewelry, porcelain, traditional ink-wash paintings, and oil
canvas.
|
