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Crypto adoption has made its way into auctions as major auction houses now allow buyers to pay for items in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). In fact, a pear-shaped diamond recently sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong just broke records by becoming the most expensive physical object publicly sold that was paid for using cryptocurrency.
On Friday, Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold a 101.38-carat diamond for a staggering HK$95.1 million (US$12.3 million) in crypto, Bloomberg reported. The auction house also said that the sale set a new record as the gem is now the most expensive piece of jewelry sold using cryptocurrency.
However, the buyer of the massive diamond was not identified by the report as the auction house merely described the purchaser as an unidentified private collector. It was also not revealed if Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) was used by the buyer for the stone’s payment.
While the payment method might be attention-grabbing, the massive 101.38-carat stone, named The Key 10138, is indeed worthy of its price. Sotheby’s said that the gem is from Diacore and is the second-largest pear-shaped diamond that was sold publicly. Last week, the auction house also said that it was the most expensive physical object ever publicly offered for purchase with crypto.
The diamond was cut from a 271-carat rough found in 2018 in the Victor Mine located in Ontario, Canada, according to Diacore. It took experts over a year to polish the stone and bring out its best brilliance, fire, and scintillation.
The diamond is flawless both internally and externally with no IR-detectable impurities of boron or nitrogen. The diamond is D color, which is the highest grade for a white diamond and belongs to the Type IIa subgroup of diamonds, which makes up to just less than two percent of those mined.
Sotheby’s previously announced that aside from fiat, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are also accepted as payment options. During the auction, which was livestreamed, there were those who made their bids online, the highest of which offered HK$85 million (US$10.97 million) for the stone.
However, the winning bid came over the phone from a private collector in Japan. After the sale, the diamond was renamed “Maiko Star” after the buyer’s second daughter. Last year, the same buyer also bought another diamond from Sotheby’s and named it the “Manami Star” after his eldest daughter.
