Diamond fetches record US$21.5m
GENEVA — GENEVA’S jewelry auctions, held in five-star hotels along its elegant lakefront, can seem a continent if not a world away from the grim austerity gripping much of Europe. Two out-of-this-world diamonds are being auctioned off this week, joining a long list of other fabulous jewels, watches and other luxury goods sold in Geneva. Here’s a look at the city’s most eye-popping diamonds:
Last night, Christie’s auctioned off the Archduke Joseph Diamond for US$21.5 million ($1.9 billion) including commission, a world auction record price per carat for a colourless diamond. That was well above the expected US$15 million and more than triple the price paid for it at auction almost two decades ago. The 76.02-carat diamond, with perfect colour and internally flawless clarity, came from the ancient Golconda mines in India.
The seller, Alfredo J Molina, chairman of California-based jeweller Black, Starr & Frost, said immediately afterward that there were two main bidders and that he was delighted with the result. Molina said the winning bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, is going to donate the diamond for display at a museum.
“It’s a great price for a stone of this quality,” Molina told The Associated Press. “It’s one of a kind, so it’s like saying ‘Are you pleased when you sell the Mona Lisa?’ Or ‘Are you pleased when you sell the Hope Diamond?’ It’s all what the market will bear, and the stone sold for a very serious price.”