Editor’s Note
This article previews the auction of “The Rock,” a record-setting 228.31-carat pear-shaped diamond hailed by experts as a rare and perfectly symmetrical masterpiece.
According to the expert, there are only a “handful” of diamonds of this caliber.
It was expected to sparkle. But “The Rock,” a 228.31-carat white diamond, the largest ever sold at auction, was hammered down on Thursday for €17.8 million, less than its estimate and far from a record in its category.
Auctioneer Rahul Kadakia, international director of Christie’s jewelry department, brought down his hammer at 18.6 million CHF (€17.8 million) after just a few minutes of bidding, to applause nonetheless, in a packed room at a Geneva palace.
The hammer price does not include the buyer’s premium (commission), which Christie’s was to reveal later. It was estimated between $20 and $30 million (between €19 and €28.4 million).
The previous record for a similar white diamond (163.41 carats) brought the stone to $33.7 million.
With 228.31 carats, the precious stone, whose seller is from North America but remains anonymous, had everything to appeal to gemstone enthusiasts and investors.
The previous record for a similar white diamond (163.41 carats) brought the stone to $33.7 million (price including buyer’s premium) – or $206,236 per carat, during a sale in November 2017 in Geneva. According to Christie’s, this was a record across all auction houses.
“The Rock” measures 3.1 cm wide by 5.4 cm long, is taller than a golf ball, and also weighs more than a tennis ball at 61.3 grams. Extracted from a South African mine in the early 2000s, it was later sold by Christie’s in a private treaty sale to a private collector.
“The Rock” is not the only star of this auction. “The Red Cross Diamond,” a 205.07-carat canary yellow cushion-shaped diamond, is also on offer. The sale is expected to be boosted by the very particular context, as the war in Ukraine is once again bloodying the Old Continent.
“The Red Cross Diamond” was extracted from a South African mine.
The original gem was extracted in 1901 from a South African mine owned by De Beers and is said to have weighed about 375 carats, according to Christie’s. In addition to ranking among the world’s largest diamonds, a striking feature of the stone is its pavilion, which is naturally faceted in the shape of a Maltese cross.
