The largest fancy vivid orange diamond ever offered at auction has gone for a record price at a Christie’s auction in Geneva. The pear-shaped diamond, weighing in at 14.82 carats, sold for CHF32.6 million ($35.5 million) on Tuesday evening.
That translates to CHF2.19 million per carat – a world record rate for any coloured diamond sold at auction, according to Christie’s.
Christie’s «Magnificent Jewels» auction fetched a record total of CHF115,146,625. It featured a collection that had belonged to the «Andean Rockefeller» Simón Itturi Patiño, which sold well above its pre-sale estimates totalling CHF13.5 million.
François Curiel, the international head of Christie’s jewellery department, said the orange diamond’s record price puts it with «the greatest pinks and blues, which are traditionally the most appreciated coloured diamonds».
The jewellery collection of Parisian style icon Hélène Rochas also went under the hammer, attracting numerous international collectors and selling 100%, bringing in a total of CHF2.1 million.
In another sale on Wednesday in Geneva, rival auction house Sotheby’s is offering «The Pink Star,» a vivid and flawless 59.60-carat pink diamond.