The biggest white diamond ever auctioned at the φυ hammer will come out next week in Zurich, Switzerland. In fact, Christie’s will auction not one but two gemstones, over 200 carats each.
Known as “The Rock”, the 228.31 carat white diamond is the size of a golf ball and is estimated to sell for around 28 million euros.
“It has a perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped shape and is one of the rarest gems ever sold at auction,” said Max Fawcett, head of Christie’s jewelry department in Geneva.
Diamond prices have risen following sanctions against Russia, as well as easing of anti-pandemic restrictions that allowed VIPs to return to the event.
The diamond was mined in South Africa and was worn as a necklace by its previous owner.
Largest white diamond ever auctioned to go under the hammer in Geneva next week. ‘The Rock’, a 228.31 carat pear-shaped stone, is expected to sell for up to $ 30M pic.twitter.com/0In5P6AsK5
– TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) May 6, 2022
The largest white diamond sold at auction to date was a 163.41 carat gem in 2017.
Christie’s will also auction a 205.07-carat yellow gem, known as the “Red Cross Diamond,” as an unspecified portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross.
The gem, which has a Maltese Cross at its base, was first auctioned by Christie’s in 1918 in London. Its estimated sale price is 6-9 million euros, according to Fawcett.
A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said part of the proceeds would be used to provide drinking water to people in war-torn areas.
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