Disappointing price for 163-carat flawless gem ‘a worrying sign’
The diamond, the centrepiece of an asymmetric gem-studded necklace designed by Fawaz Gruosi, fetched a far-from-dazzling $34m
Geneva — A flawless 163-carat clear diamond fetched about $34m at Christie’s in Geneva on Tuesday evening. The diamond, the centrepiece of an asymmetric gem-studded necklace designed by Fawaz Gruosi, founder of Geneva jeweller De Grisogono, was the largest of its kind ever auctioned. "I am disappointed that the Art of De Grisogono didn’t sell for a more dazzling price," said Tobias Kormind, head of 77Diamonds.com, a London-based online jeweller. The stone was 40% bigger than a diamond Sotheby’s sold in 2013 for about $31m, he said. "This is a worrying sign for the top end of the diamond market." A team of 10 specialists in New York cut the jewel from a rough 404-carat stone discovered last year in Angola, the biggest diamond ever found in that country. The necklace is made of 18 diamonds on one side and two rows of pear-shaped emeralds on the other. It took more than 1,700 hours to create. The Geneva fall auction season concludes Wednesday, when Sotheby’s will auction a pink diamond...
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