GENEVA (AP) — Christie’s says “The Rock,” an egg-sized white diamond billed as the largest of its kind to go up for auction, sold Wednesday for more than 21.6 million Swiss francs ($21.75 million), including fees — though at the low end of the expected range.
The 228-carat pear-shaped G-Color stone, with its platinum pendant mounting, has a gross weight of 2.2 ounces and dimensions of 2.1 inches by 1.2 inches — making it about the size of a medium hen’s egg.
G-Color is not the highest grade, but fourth on the letter rung below the top-grade D-Color diamonds.
An unspecified private buyer acquired The Rock, for which the pre-auction estimate was between 19 million and 30 million francs.
Max Fawcett, head of jewelry at Christie’s Geneva, hailed a successful sale in “uncharted territory” for a stone of its kind.
