The biggest ever red diamond to be sold at auction fetched a record amount at the Christie's International sale in Geneva earlier this month.
Christie's has regularly been in the news for sales of stunning jewelry lots in gold, silver and platinum and set with some superb jewels and diamond and this sale was no exception, setting a new precedent.
The octagonal diamond weighed 2.2 carat and sold for a total of $2.6 million, a world record for the sale of a red diamond.
Eric Valdieu, director of Christie's jewelry department in Geneva, told Reuters: "After nearly a billion dollars of art changed hands at Christie's New York in the last two weeks, the jewelry sale at Christie's Geneva demonstrated the same trend with spectacular prices achieved for exceptional jewels and gemstones."
Meanwhile, rival auction house Sotheby's fetched the second-highest price for a flawless white diamond at a sale the previous day, fetching $16.2 million.
Richard Tilles, a US-based jewelry dealer told Bloomberg.com that one reason for the record prices "is that the dollar is so weak".
