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A new world record has been set for the most expensive online sale of a single diamond.
A 59-year-old US businessman purchased a 21.01-carat D-colour internally flawless diamond via online marketplace Rare Carat for $US2.5 million ($AU3.77 million) – finalising the purchase without arranging an in-person viewing.
That sale exceeds a record set in two years ago when a diamond was sold at an auction house for $US2.1 million ($AU3.17 million)
The previous record holder was a 28-carat D-colour diamond with the VVS1 clarity, the top lot at Christie’s Jewels Online sale held in June of 2020.
Following the purchase, the buyer arranged an appraisal from gemmologist Donald Palmieri who said the circumstances of the sale were highly unusual.
“This is an enormous sale that would normally take place in person,” Palmieri told the New York Post.
The buyer spoke to the media anonymously and confirmed that value for money was his primary motivation.
“I’m a guy who likes to find out that I bought something at a value and didn’t leave a bunch of money on the table,” he said.
The buyer estimated that he saved approximately $US700,000 by finalising the purchase online via Rare Carat.
Online sales of jewellery have climbed in recent years spurred on in large part by the pandemic. Online sales accounted for 25 per cent of US sales last year compared with 14 per cent in 2015.
Recently published research from the De Beers Group suggests that more than 50 per cent of online diamond jewellery purchases are from first-time diamond jewellery buyers.
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