Massive White Diamond Fetches $30.8 Million in Hong Kong
- October 08, 2013 22:06
A "flawless" white diamond the size of a small egg sold for the record price of $30.8 million at a Hong Kong auction on Monday night.
The Sotheby's sale also featured a 7.6 carat blue diamond with a $19 million estimate that failed to sell.
Mined just two years ago in Africa, the more than 118-carat oval white diamond was estimated to sell for between $28 million to $35 million. With commission it brought the auction record price of $30.8 million.
With 330 lots, the jewelry sale attracted an international set of super rich buyers and came to a total of $95 million, $15 million less than expected, yet the highest amount for an auction of jewelry in the region.
An Asian private buyer won the diamond. The seller remains anonymous.
The previous auction record for a white diamond was $26.7 million set in May at Christie's in Geneva.
The top price for a jewel remains $46 million for a "fancy intense pink" diamond weighing 24.8 carats that Lawrence Graff bought in 2010.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
