A huge pear-shaped diamond from the legendary Golconda mines of India will be featured in Christie's upcoming jewelry and gems' auction, and the auction house believes it may fetch $3-5 million.



The Golconda diamond, which is internally flawless and retains its antique cut, weighs 26.17 carats and is suspended from a long diamond chain necklace mounted in platinum.



Christie's gems are garnering mass interest by Asian buyers in particular, who are seeking top-quality jewels and signed vintage pieces in an international market.



"The market is very strong," Jean-Marc Lunel, head of Christie's jewelry department in Geneva Lunel told Reuters. The coming sale will feature nearly 300 lots, which the auction house hopes will fetch $40-53 million.



"American and particularly Asian clients, led by mainland China, are active in all our sales. They're looking for the best in terms of quality, purity and color," Lunel said. "North American clients have always liked signed vintage pieces from French master jewelers, but increasingly now so do the Chinese."



The Golconda diamond, added Lunel, "is a magic stone that evokes the great Maharajahs of India. It has the unparalleled limpidity and transparency of Golconda diamonds famously described as 'pools of crystal water' by the 17th century French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier."



The Golconda mines, depleted in the mid-18th century, produced some of the most famous diamonds in the world, including the Koh-I-Noor, now part of Britain's crown jewels, the Agra Diamond and the Hope Diamond.