Pursuits
Sotheby’s Sets Record as Yellow Diamond Almost Fails to Sell
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Sotheby’s set a record for the biggest jewelry auction, raising $141 million in Geneva as a 100-carat Graff diamond ring was reoffered after a first round of bidding failed to reach a high enough price.
A buyer confused about currency conversions asked that bidding restart after the daffodil-yellow diamond was pulled from the sale late last night, said Catherine Allen, a spokeswoman for the auction house. The ring then sold for a hammer price of 12.8 million Swiss francs ($14.4 million), missing the low estimate of 13.4 million francs.