GENEVA – A chestnut-sized gem that was once owned by a Habsburg royal fetched US$21.5 million at an auction in Geneva on Tuesday evening, setting the highest-ever price per carat for a colourless diamond, auction house Christie's said.
The stone weighing 76.02 carats comes from India's Golconda mines and is called the Archduke Joseph diamond, after the royal who briefly acted as the regent of Hungary at the end of World War I.
The diamond was sold to a bank in 1936 and changed hands several times over the following decades.
It was put up for auction by Alfredo Molina, head of the US firm Molina Fine Jewelers. Christie's did not disclose the identity of the successful bidder.
The Archduke Joseph Diamond. The internally flawless stone, weighing 76.02 carats, originated from the Golconda mines in India. It was sold by Christie's International during its jewel auction in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov 13, 2012 for a price of $21.5 million. Source: Christie's Images Ltd 2012 via Bloomberg