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The shield-shaped Shizuka diamond is 101.27 carats and sold for $6,211,249 on May 28, 2008

The Shizuka Diamond

Man buys wife 101 carat diamond and names it in her honour

Somewhere in Asia there is a lucky lady named Shizuka who has one of the world’s most magnificent diamonds to call her own.

Christie’s has announced that a 101.27 carat diamond sold in its spring 2008 jewelry sale in Hong Kong has been christened The Shizuka Diamond by its new owner.

“Shizuka is a Japanese woman’s first name and is the name of the buyer’s wife,” explains Kate Swan Malin, manager of Christie’s public relations in Asia.

The romantic gent paid $6,211,249 U.S. or HK$48,487,500 for the stone as a gift for his wife of 16 years.

The rare shield-shaped diamond has 92 brilliant facets, is F colour and VVS1 clarity. “It’s about the size of a squash ball or a ping pong ball,” Malin describes.

The Shizuka was cut from a “daunting” rough of 460 carats. The stone arrived at Christie’s loose and was mounted into a tiara for the sale.

“Often when we have larger diamonds that come loose, we will mount them into a ring, a necklace, etc.,” Malin remarks. “It often helps people visualize what they can do with it. In the case of the Shizuka diamond, given its incredible size and shield-shape cut, we determined a tiara would be the best way to display it.

The magnificent Shizuka is the largest colourless diamond ever sold at auction in Asia and a testament to the growing number of collectors in the region, Christie’s says.

Imagine what Shizuka will receive when she and her hubby hit a real milestone, like 25 years.