Sotheby's White Diamond Auction Sets New Record

By Emily Saladino

The 74.79K stone sold for $14,165,000 at Sotheby’s spring jewelry auction, setting a new record for any white diamond sold in the Americas.

Five bidders vied for the stone, which had been acquired by its present owner for $4.3 million in 2001. It is one of the only pear-shaped diamonds of D color over 50K to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in decades.

The diamond was part of a record-setting spring jewelry auction for Sotheby’s New York. Yesterday’s Magnificent Jewels sale brought in $53,490,938 in total, due in large part to items from prominent private collections, such as six pieces from the family of railroad magnate and financier Jay Gould that sold for a combined $7,905,250. That collection was led by a brooch centered around a 22.48K Colombian emerald, which sold for $2,909,000.

www.sothebys.com