GENEVA: The Fortune Pink diamond, an exceptionally rare giant gemstone, sold for more than 1 billion baht at auction in Geneva on Tuesday to a private Asian collector.
At 18.18 carats, the gem is the largest pear-shaped "fancy vivid pink" diamond ever sold under the hammer, Christie's auction house said.
The dazzling diamond fetched a hammer price of 24.5 million Swiss francs, rising to 28,436,500 Swiss francs 1.06 billion baht with the buyer's premium added on.
The bidding, which lasted for a tense four minutes, started at 17 million Swiss francs and was a three-way battle between telephone bidders, with the winner eventually claiming the gem by upping the bid by half a million.
The diamond was exhibited in Geneva then headed to New York, Shanghai, Taiwan and Singapore in October before returning to Switzerland.
It was auctioned in the Magnificent Jewels sale at the Hotel des Bergues, part of Christie's Luxury Week of sales in Geneva.
The Fortune Pink had been estimated to fetch between $25 million and $35 million.
The world record for a pink diamond was set in 2017, when a stone known as the CTF Pink Star was sold in Hong Kong for 2.6 billion baht.
