17/11/2010 12:54
“The pink Graff Diamond” sold with the price of 46.16 dollars
A rare pink diamond has fetched 45.44 million Swiss francs ($46.8 million), virtually doubling the previous record to become the most expensive stone ever sold at auction and underline the strength of the international jewellery market, the Sydney Morning Herald informs.
The rectangular step-cut pink diamond, which weighs 24.78 carats and is about the size of a pinball, was the star lot among nearly 500 on the block at Sotheby's semi-annual jewellery sales in Geneva.
Top diamond dealer Laurence Graff, bidding by telephone, was the buyer of the diamond which is mounted in a platinum ring, the auction house said in a statement.
It was also purchased by Graff of Graff Diamonds, who later had it repolished, making it smaller at 31.06 carats, and renaming it the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond.