The Rock, an egg-sized white diamond billed as the largest of its kind to be auctioned, sold for more than CHF21.6 million ($21.75 million), including fees – at the low end of what Christie’s expected. As reported by AP, the 228-carat pear-shaped G-Color stone has a gross weight of 61.3 grams (2.2 ounces) and dimensions of 5.4 centimeters by 3.1 centimeters (2.1 inches by 1.2 inches).
G-Color diamonds are not the highest grade diamonds, but are ranked fourth below D-Color diamonds. A private buyer acquired The Rock, which had a pre-auction estimate of between 19 million and 30 million Swiss francs. In addition, the “Red Cross” diamond was sold under the hammer, fetching nearly 14.2 million francs, double the pre-sale estimate. For the first time in 1918, the diamond was auctioned off after being cut from a rough stone discovered in the Griqualand mines of South Africa.