Getty Image / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/
Diamond experts are worried about the state of the high-end diamond market after a flawless 163-carat diamond sold for only $34 MILLION yesterday at an auction in Geneva. Christie’s sold the De Grisogono necklace, otherwise known as Creation I, and experts are worried about the price.
The flawless 163-carat diamond is featured on the De Grisogono necklace. What makes this massive f’n diamond so special is it’s the largest of its kind ever auctioned. This diamond is also 40% larger than a diamond that was sold by Christie’s in 2013 for $3 million more than the De Grisogono necklace. The fact that this sold for $3 million less than a diamond it was 40% larger than has diamond industry insiders worried that people aren’t willing to shell out insanely stupid sums of money for precious gemstones, and rightfully so.
Getty Image / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/
Thomas Mulier of Bloomberg reports:
“I am disappointed that the Art of De Grisogono didn’t sell for a more dazzling price,” he said in a statement. “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.
Christie’s sold 27 lots for more than $1 million Tuesday, though a quarter of the items it offered went unsold. The total sale raised $106 million. (via)
No matter how many times I write about high-end diamonds here on BroBible I’m constantly amazed that there are people on this planet willing to pay tens of millions of dollars for these gemstones. There’s not a car on planet earth that you can’t buy for $34 million. And there are very few mansions in the world that cost more than that. I just cannot fathom purchasing a rock when you could buy an island in the Caribbean instead.
For more on this sale, you can follow those links above and head on over to Bloomberg.