Jewelry label Harry Winston has purchased a new colourless, flawless 101.73-carat diamond for a record $26.7 million at a Christie's auction in Geneva on Wednesday. Since it is the first buyer of the new diamond, Harry Winston has named the diamond the “Harry Legacy.”

This is the diamond dealer’s first major purchase since it was acquired by the Swatch Group for $1.0 billion in March.

The American Institute of Gemology has handed the Harry Legacy the top colourless grade “D” and the best clarity grade, “flawless”, which is characterised by its “absolute symmetry”, according to Christie's.

The diamond, sold at the auction by a diamond merchant, was 236 carats in the rough when it was extracted from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, before it was meticulously sculpted for 21 months, Christie’s said.

Wednesday’s sale marked the highest price ever paid for a flawless colourless diamond at auction, although Christie’s had hoped the new diamond — the largest of its kind to ever go under the hammer — would rake in $30 million.