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Biggest white diamond ever auctioned fetches $21.9 million

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Agnes Pedrero, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A Christie" s="" employee="" holds="" a="" white="" diamond="" of="" carats="" that="" is="" the="" largest="" ever="" seen="" throughout="" auction="" market="" during="" preview="" at="" in="" May="" Salvatore="" Di="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/05/12/the-rock.jpg"/><figcaption>A Christie&#x27;s employee holds &#x27;The Rock&#x27;, a white diamond of 228,31 carats that is the largest white diamond ever seen throughout auction market history, during a preview at Christie&#x27;s, in Geneva, Switzerland, 06 May 2022. Salvatore Di Nolfi, EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div>GENEVA, Switzerland - The Rock, the biggest white diamond ever auctioned, sold for 21.7 million Swiss francs ($21.9 million) on Wednesday, far short of the record for such a jewel.The 228.31-carat stone, larger than a golf ball, was sold in Geneva by Christie&#x27;s auction house.There had been high hopes that The Rock would smash the world record for a white diamond, which stands at $33.7 million, a sum fetched in Geneva in 2017 for a 163.41-carat gem.But the bidding, which started at 14 million Swiss francs, ground to a halt after two minutes at 18.6 million, with the price rising to 21.7 million once the buyer&#x27;s premium was added on.The pre-sale estimate had been 19-30 million Swiss francs.The Rock, a perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped diamond, was sold by an unnamed owner from North America. It was bought by a private collector bidding by telephone.Rahul Kadakia, Christie&#x27;s international head of jewellery, brought down the hammer to applause in the sale room in the plush Hotel des Bergues.Diamonds are graded in colour from D to Z and Kadakia told AFP that despite falling short of the overall record, The Rock had set a new world record price per carat for a G-color diamond.&quot;When you look at the price per carat -- 100,000 per carat -- this is the level of a D color diamond, and we achieved that for a G colour diamond. So in fact, we&#x27;re very pleased as are the sellers, as is the buyer.&quot;Max Fawcett, head of the jewels department at Christie&#x27;s auction house in Geneva, said there were only a handful of diamonds of similar size and quality to The Rock.The large diamond was extracted from a mine in South Africa in the early 2000s and has been shown in Dubai, Taipei and New York ahead of the sale in Geneva.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/multimedia/photo/05/07/22/the-rock-previewed-for-auction">‘The Rock’ previewed for auction</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/10/22/black-diamond-largest-ever-cut-sells-for-p220-m">Black diamond, largest ever cut, sells for P220-M</a></li></ul><div>Red Cross gem </div>The Rock was up for grabs alongside a historic intense yellow diamond associated for more than a century with the Red Cross.A seven-figure chunk of the proceeds will be donated to the International Committee of the Red Cross, headquartered in Geneva, at a time when war is once again stalking the European continent.The Red Cross Diamond, a cushion-shaped, 205.07-carat canary yellow jewel, sold for 14.2 million Swiss francs including the buyer&#x27;s premium -- well above its price estimate of seven to 10 million francs.Multiple bidders fought fiercely over the gem for 10 minutes, ending in a duel in increments of 50,000 francs before one private collector won through.The original rough stone was found in 1901 in a De Beers company mine in South Africa and is said to have weighed around 375 carats.As well as ranking among the largest diamonds in the world, a striking feature is its pavilion, which naturally bears the shape of a Maltese cross.The stone was first put up for sale on April 10, 1918 at Christie&#x27;s in London. It was offered by the Diamond Syndicate in aid of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John.The Red Cross Diamond fetched £10,000 -- approximately £600,000 ($740,000) in today&#x27;s money. It was bought by the London jewellers S.J. Phillips.It was sold again by Christie&#x27;s in Geneva in 1973, fetching 1.8 million Swiss francs, before being offered by the auction house for a third time.&quot;A 104-year history of the diamond with Christie&#x27;s; we&#x27;re very pleased that we were able to locate it, and we&#x27;re very pleased that we were able to secure it in another private collection,&quot; said Kadakia.Also sold was a tiara that belonged to Princess Irma of Fuerstenberg (1867-1948), a member of one of the most pre-eminent aristocratic families in the Habsburg Empire.It was estimated at 400,000 to 600,000 Swiss francs. However, it sold for way more: 2.4 million francs, having caught the eye in a prominent spot at the pre-sale exhibition.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/06/19/20/meanwhile-some-people-are-stress-shopping-diamond-bracelets">Meanwhile, some people are stress-shopping diamond bracelets</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/09/29/18/look-pink-diamond-may-fetch-up-to-50m-at-auction">LOOK: Pink diamond may fetch up to $50M at auction</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1930586" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Rock, the biggest white diamond ever auctioned, sold for 21.7 million Swiss francs ($21.9 million) on Wednesday, far short of the record for such a jewel.

Biggest white diamond ever auctioned fetches $21.9 million

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Biggest white diamond ever auctioned fetches $21.9 million

Agnes Pedrero,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 12, 2022 08:50 AM PHT

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Updated May 12, 2022 11:11 AM PHT

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