Sebutir berlian berusia beratus tahun milik kerabat diraja Eropah turun-temurun berjaya dijual pada harga AS$9.7 juta (RM30.2 juta) pada satu jualan lelong, di sini semalam.
Berlian seberat 35 karat yang diberi nama 'Beau Sancy' itu pernah dipakai Ratu Marie de Medici, isteri Raja Henry IV, pada hari pertabalannya pada 1610.
Terdapat lima pembida dari tiga benua bersaing mendapatkan berlian itu pada jualan lelong anjuran Sotheby, sekali gus menggambarkan tidak berlaku krisis kewangan global.
Berlian yang diletakkan di pasaran oleh House of Prussia itu menjadi milik pembida yang membuat bidaan melalui telefon dan disifatkan oleh Sotheby sebagai perhiasan ''paling memukau dan romantik'' pernah dilelong setakat ini.
''Saya jatuh cinta dengannya apabila melihatnya. Ia adalah bahan bersejarah," kata Philipp Herzog von Wuerttenberg, Pengerusi Sotheby di Eropah.
Wuerttenberg berkata, berlian Sancy Beau berbentuk buah pear itu menarik bidaan dari Amerika Utara, Eropah dan Asia.
Beliau, bagaimanapun enggan mendedahkan maklumat mengenai pembelinya. - AFP
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The “Beau Sancy” is one of the world’s oldest known diamonds (400 years old) and weighs 34.98 carats - estimated to be worth between $2 million and $4 million.
A diamond coveted by kings, queens and princes for centuries, used to reinforce alliances between nations and pawned to pay off royal debts sold for 9 million Swiss francs at Sotheby's in Geneva on Tuesday night.
The auction house called the "Beau Sancy" diamond "one of the most important historic diamonds ever to come to auction", reflecting its role in the fluctuating fortunes of Europe's royal families for more than 400 years.
"The legendary Beau Sancy is a truly magical stone that has entranced generations of royal owners and continues to exert a powerful influence over all who see it," said David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, in a statement.
"Its supreme historical importance was reflected tonight in the strength of the bidding and the remarkable result realized."
No fewer than five bidders competed for the stone, driving the price to nearly five times above its pre-sale low estimate of 1.85 million Swiss francs in an eight minute battle before it was bought by an anonymous bidder, Sotheby's said.
The stone, a 35-carat modified "pear double rose cut" diamond belonging to Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia and head of the former ruling dynasty of the German empire, had been expected to fetch $2 million to $4 million.
"It's a stone that appeals to me greatly as a survivor of all those tumultuous events," Bennett told Reuters in a telephone interview in February.
"Stones from royal collections hardly ever appear at auction. In my career this is an absolute one-off."
Bennett, who sold a pink diamond for $46.2 million in 2010 in what was a record for any jewel at auction, said estimating the value of a stone like the Beau Sancy was difficult given its rarity.
The diamond originated from the mines in India near Golconda and was acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, in Constantinople in the 1500s.
In 1604 it was bought for 75,000 livres by French king Henry IV as a gift for his wife, Marie de Medici.
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