A white diamond the size of an egg sold for $30.6 million at the Sotheby’s jewelry auction in Hong Kong on Monday, the most ever paid for such a jewel.
Two bidders competed by phone for the 118-carat African diamond for six minutes, until one bidder finally dropped out, the Associated Press reports. The previous record for the sale of a white diamond was $26.7 million.
The diamond, which was mined in 2011 and was originally 299 carats, is the largest of its kind, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Sotheby’s is auctioning a 59.6-carat pink diamond in November, which is expected to sell for over $60 million.
[AP]