INTERNATIONAL - The largest known fancy intense pink diamond went unsold at Sotheby’s in Geneva on Wednesday amid jitters in the market for precious stones.
The Raj Pink, a 37-carat stone set in a ring, was discovered in 2015 in South Africa. Sotheby’s had estimated its value as high as $30 million. Other lots unsold in the auction included a vivid blue diamond ring estimated at as much as $18 million and two yellow diamonds worth as much as $14 million.
Christie’s sold a flawless 163-carat clear diamond for $34 million in the Swiss city Tuesday night, a price that some observers called low. Christie’s sold 27 lots for more than $1 million in that auction, though a quarter of the items it offered went unsold.
The auction market is sometimes seen as a bellwether for investors’ exuberance. Stock markets declined worldwide Wednesday, and both European stocks and Japan’s Topix index are in their longest losing streaks in a year.
Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn said Wednesday that the problems that caused the global financial crisis a decade ago still haven’t been resolved.