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Sold 21 million euros, the largest white diamond auctioned does not reach a record

2022-05-11T20:18:47.833Z


It is higher than a golf ball and weighs, with its 61.3 g, more than a tennis ball: "The Rock" has not yet climbed a peak.


He had to make sparks.

But 'The Rock', a 228.31-carat white diamond, the largest ever sold at auction, is far from reaching a record amount in its category, despite a final price of nearly 21 million. euros.

The Red Cross diamond stole the show, no doubt buoyed by the fact that part of the proceeds from the sale will go to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at a time when the bloody war in Ukraine has the Old Continent again.

Multiple bidders fought bitterly for this canary yellow diamond for long minutes, the sale ending in a duel in increments of 50,000 Swiss francs.

It was sold for 13.5 million euros (CHF 14.1 million), exceeding expectations.

Read alsoEnigma, the largest natural black diamond in the world, sold for 3.75 million euros at auction

Auctioneer Rahul Kadakia, international director of the jewelry department of Christie's, in charge of the sale of "The Rock", lowered his hammer to 18.6 million CHF (17.8 million euros) at the end of only a few minutes of bidding, to applause despite everything, in a full house of a Geneva palace.

It was estimated between 20 and 30 million dollars (between 19 and 28.4 million euros).

Its final price, including the buyer's premium (commission), amounts to 20.7 million euros.

Few diamonds of this ilk

The auctioneer explained that he was not disappointed because “The Rock” had set “a new record price per carat for a diamond of color G”, the graduation scale for the color hues of a white diamond ranging from D to Z. The precious stone, whose seller is from North America but who remains anonymous, had everything to seduce collectors and investors.

"It is a truly exceptional pear-shaped diamond" and "it is perfectly symmetrical", explained Max Fawcett, head of the jewelery department at Christie's in Geneva, before the sale.

According to the expert, there are only a "handful" of diamonds of this ilk.

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The latest record for a similar white diamond (163.41 carats) brought the stone to $33.7 million (price including buyer's premium) - or $206,236 per carat, at a sale in November 2017 in Geneva.

According to Christie's, this was a record for all auction houses combined.

“The Rock” measures 3.1 cm wide by 5.4 cm long, is taller than a golf ball, and also weighs, at 61.3 g, more than a tennis ball.

Extracted from a mine in South Africa in the early 2000s, it was then sold by Christie's as part of an over-the-counter sale to a private collector.

A naturally faceted pavilion in the shape of a Maltese cross

“The Red Cross Diamond,” a 205.07-carat cushion-shaped canary yellow diamond, caused a stir.

The original gem was mined in 1901 at a De Beers company's South African mine and is said to have weighed around 375 carats, according to Christie's.

As well as ranking among the largest diamonds in the world, a striking feature of the stone is its pavilion, which is naturally faceted in the shape of a Maltese cross.

On April 10, 1918, the stone was first offered for sale at Christie's in London by the Diamond Syndicate, to benefit the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. of Malta).

At the time, the diamond was sold for 10,000 pounds (about 600,000 pounds today, or more than 700,000 euros).

It had been bought by the famous London jeweler SJ Phillips.

The stone was first offered for sale at Christie's in London by the Diamond Syndicate, to benefit the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John.

AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI.

AFP or licensors

On November 21, 1973, it was put up for sale again at Christie's in Geneva, for 1.8 million francs.

"We are very pleased to have been able to place it in another private collection and that the consignees of the Red Cross Diamond will make a seven-figure donation to the International Committee of the Red Cross," said Rahul Kadakia.

The seller wished to remain anonymous but released this statement: “For nearly half a century, our family has had the privilege of keeping the Red Cross Diamond.

(…) At this auspicious moment in history, we honor the call that others have made before us”.

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2022-05-11

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