The “Fortune Pink” fancy vivid pink stone, said to be the largest of its kind and shape to go on the block, headlined Christie’s latest Geneva sale of jewellery. It had been expected to fetch between $25 million and $35 million.
The auction house said an unidentified Asian buyer snapped up the diamond on Tuesday.
Max Fawcett, head of Christie’s jewellery department in Geneva, said the stone with a strong, saturated pink colour was mined in Brazil more than 15 years ago. He declined to identify its owner, but described the diamond as “a true miracle of nature”.
Christie’s says the first pink diamonds ever recorded were found in India’s Golconda mines in the 16th century, before others turned up over the centuries in places like Africa, Australia, Brazil and Russia.
The pink stone’s auction followed a showroom tour in New York, Shanghai, Singapore and Taiwan before its arrival in Geneva.
The auction comes six months after Christie’s sold “The Rock” – a 228-carat egg-sized white diamond billed as the largest of its kind to go up for auction – for more than $21.75 million, including fees. That was also at the low end of the expected range.
The world record for a pink diamond was set in 2017, when a stone called the “CTF Pink Star” was sold in Hong Kong for $71.2 million (CHF 70.2 million).
Doctors Without Borders demands Swiss Gaza clarification
This content was published on
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has challenged Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis to explain his controversial Gaza statements.
Data centres use four times more electricity than average
This content was published on
The power consumption of data centres, used in particular for AI, is four times higher than average, warns the International Telecommunication Union.
One in five bee colonies failed to survive Swiss winter
This content was published on
Almost a fifth of bee colonies in Switzerland failed to survive the winter. Losses have been greater than in previous years.
Switzerland condemns deadly attack on UN convoy in Sudan
This content was published on
Switzerland has strongly condemned the deadly attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy in Sudan. Five people were killed, wrote the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on Platform X.
Most over-65s in Switzerland regularly use the internet
This content was published on
The digital divide is narrowing faster than expected in Switzerland. A study published on Wednesday reveals that nine out of ten over-65s use the internet.
Will Swiss president be forbidden from speaking English to counterparts?
This content was published on
Switzerland's president, Karin Keller-Sutter, should use one of the country's four national languages when communicating with international organisations, and not English, according to a motion that passed on Wednesday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Gold snuffbox and Bonaparte medals among auctioned ‘Swiss in the World’ objects
This content was published on
Various objects belonging to the now-shut Foundation for the History of the Swiss in the World have been sold for CHF1.5 million.
Purple-pink diamond goes for a record CHF24.4 million in Geneva
This content was published on
The 14.83-carat jewel, cut from crystal mined in Russia in 2017, was called “The Spirit of the Rose”, after a ballet performed by the Ballets Russes and Vaslav Nijinsky in 1911. The hammer price of CHF21 million before commission was reached after just a few minutes, when it was bought by a telephone bidder who…
This content was published on
Sotheby’s in Geneva has set a record auction price for a pair of earrings, selling a duo of blue and pink diamond jewels for $57 million.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.