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A massive 101 carat diamond the size of a squash ball sold at a Christie's auction for 6.2 million U.S. dollars (USD) on Wednesday (May 28), setting a record as the largest diamond ever sold at an auction in Asia. The diamond was discovered in South Africa and was cut from a 460-carat hunk of rough crystal. It is now mounted on an 18 carat white gold tiara, rather than a necklace or pendant, due to its extraordinary thickness. The gem, which is internally flawless but rated VVS1 (very very slightly imperfect 1st degree) for clarity was sold after patchy bidding for 5 million Hong Kong dollars including the buyer's premium, a relatively low per-carat price and at the low-end of its pre-sale estimate. The private buyer, who declined to be named, bought the jewel at the end of a long day of sales of sparkling gems such as coloured diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Some of the world's richest buyers phoned in bids or raised numbered tags in the audience. "To find a 5-carat diamond is already something quite marvellous and different. to find a 10-carat diamond is a bit more difficult. So can you imagine the piece of rough that is needed to cut 100-carat diamond? They hardly come up," said Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie's Europe, who was the auctioneer at the event. Experts had expected the diamond to be bought by a Middle Eastern or Russian family, with a tiara being worn for a special occasion, The sheer size of the jewel and its width makes it difficult to mount as a...