Few diamonds boast a story as colourful as The Golden Canary—once called The Incomparable, and before that, The Golden Giant. In the early 1980s, diamond miners in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) tossed the massive yellow stone onto a rubble pile, dismissing it as too bulky to bother scanning. The state-run mining company, MIBA, literally threw it away.

A young girl later found the gem while playing outside her uncle’s house in the nearby town of Mbuji Mayi, in Kasai-Oriental Province. Thanks to her, the discarded diamond got a second chance. After changing hands several times, undergoing multiple cuts, and cycling through owners and markets, The Golden Canary is once again up for sale—and back in the spotlight

Bidding for the Golden Canary Diamond

will start at just $1 on 7 December 2022-  a deliberate move by the auction house to provoke fierce bidding – but is expected to reach its high estimate of $15m.

It’s gone through a few changes in identity and appearance, but in its latest incarnation, the 303.10-carat, internally flawless, fancy deep brownish-yellow, pear modified brilliant diamond is to be auctioned by Sotheby’s New York.It’s not quite the biggest polished diamond, and it’s nowhere near the most valuable, but it does hold the record for being the largest flawless or internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America. That’s a pretty good claim to fame, but in truth it’s not quite what previous owners had hoped for.

A small conglomerate –

Donald Zale of the Dallas-based jewellery store chain, Marvin Samuels, of the Premier Gems Corporation, and Louis Glick, a big name in the New York diamond industry – bought the stone and had high hopes that it would eclipse the Cullinan 1, also known as The Great Star of Africa, as the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. 

Cullinan 1, a 530.2-carat pendeloque-cut diamond with 74 brilliant facets, remains the most valuable single stone in Britain’s Crown Jewels, set in King Charles III’s Royal Sceptre with Cross. When faced with the irregularly-shaped 890-carat rough, a trio of owners aimed to create a polished diamond weighing 531 carats—just enough to claim a new world record.

Marvin Samuels famously said, “Never forget it, 531 carats. That indelible, non-negotiable 531, and only one chance to get it.”

But the plan didn’t hold. Two years into the four-year cutting and analysis process, the team realized that eliminating internal inclusions would require sacrificing size. In pursuit of perfection, they ultimately produced a 407.48-carat stone, graded by the GIA as a “shield-shaped step cut, internally flawless” diamond—later named The Golden Giant. They also cut 14 smaller stones from the original rough.

Christie’s London

put The Golden Giant up for auction, but it failed to meet its $20 million reserve. In 2002, it surfaced again on eBay, but still didn’t sell.

Fast forward to 2013: the flawless 407.48-carat yellow diamond resurfaced as the pendant in the world’s most valuable necklace, certified by Guinness World Records. Swiss jeweller Mouawad crafted the piece, suspending the diamond from 18-karat rose gold branchlets adorned with 91 white diamonds (229.52 total carats) and attaching a $55 million price tag. The necklace drew considerable interest from buyers in Asia and Europe, though what happened to it afterward remains unclear—until now.

Reintroduced as the Golden Canary Diamond, it returns with a new name and a new cut, now weighing 303.1 carats. The diamond lost over 100 carats in the process, but advancements in cutting technology improved its shape, deepened its colour, and intensified its brilliance.

Sotheby’s New York plans to auction the Golden Canary on 7 December. The sale will have no reserve—a bold move—but don’t expect it to go cheaply.