Geneva - (AFP) - The largest white diamond ever auctioned will go up for sale in Geneva, along with a historic canary yellow diamond, part of which will go to the Red Cross.
The head of the jewelry department at Christie's in Geneva, Max Faust, told AFP that "The Rock", which weighs 228.31 carats, "is the largest white diamond ever offered at auction," noting that it is "a polished pear-shaped diamond that is really distinctive." ".
Expectations indicated that the price of this precious stone, which belongs to a person from North America whose identity was not disclosed, may reach record levels.
Fawcett confirmed that the stone is "exactly the same," estimating its price at "between 20 and 30 million dollars." It is likely that the competition to acquire it will be fierce and lead to "high bids".
The expert explained that there are only a "handful" of such diamonds. The last record price recorded by a similar white diamond (163.41 carats) at an auction by Christie's dates back to November 2017 in Geneva, when it was sold on that day for $33.7 million.
The Rock, taller than a golf ball, was mined in South Africa in the early 2000s and sold by Christie's by negotiation to a private collector.
Participants in Wednesday's auction can also seek possession of The Red Cross Diamond, a cushion-shaped canary yellow diamond weighing 205.07 carats.
Faust said that the price of this diamond was "estimated at between seven and ten million Swiss francs," and he expected the auction to achieve "excellent results." He pointed out that "a large part of its proceeds will be donated to the International Committee of the Red Cross."
The rough gemstone from which this diamond was made was extracted in 1901 from a De Beers mine in South Africa and weighed 375 carats, according to Christie's. This diamond is considered among the largest in the world, and is also characterized by the natural shape of its wing resembling a Maltese cross.
The diamond was first offered for sale at Christie's in London on April 10, 1918 by the Diamond Syndicate for the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (commonly known as the Order of Malta).
The diamond was sold at the time for ten thousand pounds sterling (equivalent to about 600 thousand pounds today, or more than 737 thousand dollars), and was bought by the famous jeweler, "SJ Phelps" in London.
It was put up for sale again on November 21, 1973, at Christie's in Geneva, for 1.8 million francs, and the house is offering it today for the third time.
The diamond seller wished to keep his identity secret, but issued a statement saying: "Nearly half a century ago, our family had the honor of keeping the Red Cross diamond. (...) At this appropriate moment in history, we respect the call made by others before us."
Wednesday's auction includes a number of other diamonds, in addition to a crown that belonged to the Princess of Fürstenberg (1867-1948), one of the most important aristocratic families in the Habsburg Empire. Its price was estimated at between 400,000 and 600,000 francs.
Max Faust said, "The diamond market is characterized by amazing resilience this year. Despite the difficult geopolitical situation and inflationary pressures, diamond prices have not reached such a high level for seven or eight years."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on this market.
Faust explained that more than 40 percent of diamonds are extracted from Russia, especially from the Alrosa mine, but international markets can no longer obtain Russian gems.
The expert pointed out that the war in Ukraine "has great repercussions because of this strong restriction of supply in the current market, by causing strong price increases."
It is expected that the continuation of international sanctions against Russia will lead to "continued price hikes."
