A 26.36-carat round brilliant cut white diamond solitaire sold for £1.009 million at Elmwood’s auctioneers in Notting Hill, London, on March 17, 2026. The final price exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £800,000–£1 million.
The sale marked the largest white diamond offered in the UK market in over a decade. The last comparable stone was a 26.27-carat diamond auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2017, underlining the rarity of such offerings.
The diamond was graded VVS1 clarity with triple excellent cut, polish and symmetry. A facsimile GIA report confirmed an I colour grade with no fluorescence. The stone was mounted in a platinum ring, size L1/2 / 6.
Bidding activity was recorded across telephone and online channels, indicating strong participation from multiple buyers. The lot was eventually acquired by a private British individual.
We are delighted to have achieved a final price of £1.009 million, significantly exceeding the pre-sale estimate of £800,000, for this truly exceptional diamond. This is an extraordinarily rare stone. Its combination of impressive size, VVS1 clarity and triple excellent cut is seldom encountered on the UK market. Diamonds of this calibre appear perhaps once in a decade and this remarkable solitaire is a spectacular example of why the finest white diamonds continue to captivate collectors worldwide.Joe Kendrick of Elmwood’s auctioneers
The result reflects continued demand for large, high-quality white diamonds among private collectors, particularly for stones with strong grading characteristics and limited market availability.