The Rock, an egg-sized diamond, fetches $31.5 million on auction in Geneva
An egg-sized white diamond called The Rock, billed as the largest of its kind to go up for auction, sold on Wednesday for more than 21.6 million Swiss francs ($31.5 million).
An egg-sized white diamond called The Rock, billed as the largest of its kind to go up for auction, sold on Wednesday for more than 21.6 million Swiss francs ($31.5 million).
Key points:
- The amount paid for The Rock was at the lower end of the estimated range
- An unspecified buyer purchased the diamond
- At the same auction, a 205.1 carat diamond sold for $20.7 million
The 228-carat pear-shaped G-Colour stone, with its platinum pendant mounting, has a gross weight of 61.3 grams and dimensions of 5.4 centimetres by 3.1 centimetres — making it about the size of a medium hen's egg.
G-Colour is not the highest grade, but fourth on the letter rung below the top-grade D-Colour diamonds.
The price, which included fees, is considered at the low end of the expected range — the pre-auction estimate was between 19 million and 30 million francs.
An unspecified private buyer acquired The Rock.
Max Fawcett, head of jewellery at Christie's Geneva, hailed a successful sale in "uncharted territory" for a stone of its kind.
Also going under the hammer on Wednesday was the "Red Cross" diamond, a 205.1-carat fancy yellow stone, which fetched nearly 14.2 million francs ($20.7 million), double the pre-sale estimate.
The 'Red Cross', a fancy intense yellow, cushion-shaped 205.07 carat diamond and a 228.31 carat white diamond called 'The Rock' are some of the largest ever seen throughout auction market history. (Reuters: Denis Balibouse)
The diamond was cut from a rough stone unearthed from South Africa's Griqualand mines in the early 20th century, and went up for auction for the first time in 1918.
Mr Fawcett testified to a "huge amount of interest" in the Red Cross diamond, saying an unspecified "seven-figure sum" from the proceeds of the sale to an unspecified private buyer would be donated to the international Red Cross Movement, the Geneva-based humanitarian aid group.
AP