This White Diamond Is The Largest To Ever Appear At Auction

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The largest white diamond to ever be sold publicly could fetch as much as $30 million when it goes to auction in Switzerland in May, as prices and demand for diamonds continue to rebound after an initial pandemic slump.

The diamond industry has managed to make a major comeback after being battered by the pandemic. De Beers and Alrosa—two of the world’s leading diamond companies—finished last year with higher sale numbers than even the prepandemic 2019 figures. Customers spending more time at home have continued to spend money on diamonds over other luxuries made more difficult by the pandemic, like travel, according to Bloomberg. Both De Beers and Alrosa raised prices for their diamonds throughout 2021. In February, a 555.55-carat black diamond sold at auction for $4.28 million, which set a record for the largest diamond ever auctioned.

Dubbed “The Rock,” the jewel is a 228.31-carat pear-shaped diamond that was mined and polished in South Africa 20 years ago, according to Christie’s, which said it was among the finest gemstones to pass through the auction house since its founding in 1766.

The gem will break the record for the largest auctioned diamond set in 2017, when a 163.41-carat white diamond sold for $33.7 million, also through Christie’s Geneva.

The Gemmological Institute of America graded the gem as a G color, VS1 clarity diamond, and the sale will include a letter from the laboratory stating “The Rock” is the largest pear-shaped diamond to be graded by the institute, according to Christie’s.

The stone will go on a worldwide tour before the May auction, stopping first at Christie’s showrooms in Dubai, Taipei and New York, and then sent to Geneva, where it will be one of the jewels of Christie’s Luxury Week auctions.

Christie’s first brokered the private sale of the gem to a collector nearly two decades ago, and the seller recently approached the auction house to sell back “The Rock” on the public market after the demand for diamonds increased last year, Christie’s international head of jewelry ​​Rahul Kadakia told Bloomberg.

أ ف ب

دبي: عَرَضَتْ دار كريستيز للمزادات في دبي أمام الجمهور للمرَّة الأولى ماسة بيضاء وُصفت بأنها «الكبرى» من نوعها في تاريخ المزادات، قبل طرحها للبيع في ‏‏مايو المقبل بسعر يُتوقع أن يصلَ إلى 30 مليون دولار.

وأشارت كريستيز إلى أن الماسة المسماة «The Rock» «الصخرة» هي قطعة ضخمة على شكل إجاصة بزنة 228.31 قيراط تم استخراجُها وصقلها في جنوب إفريقيا قبل أكثر من 20 عامًا.

وبعد عرضها لأول مرَّة أمام الجمهور في دبي في الفترة ما بين 26 إلى 29 مارس الجاري، ستُنقل الماسة إلى تايبيه ونيويورك ثم إلى جنيف، حيث ستُطرح للبيع في مزاد تنظمه دار كريستيز في 11 ‏‏مايو المُقبل.