Whopping diamond expected to sell for over $18.3m

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - A 76-carat diamond billed as one of the most famous in the world is expected to fetch well over US$15 million (S$18.3 million) when it hits the auction block in November, Christie's said on Friday.

The colossal gem, which Christie's said was the finest and largest perfect Golconda diamond ever to appear at auction, is perfect in color and internally flawless.

"The legendary Golconda mines in India produced some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the Dresden green, the blue Hope, and the Koh-i-Noor (in the Royal Collection at the Tower of London)," Mr Rahul Kadakia, head of jewellery for Christie's Americas and Switzerland, said.

The diamond, named the Archduke Joseph Diamond for one of its former owners, is the highlight of Christie's sale of precious gems in Geneva in November, the auction house said in a statement.