Diamond earrings sell for record price of R670m

SOTHEBY’S on Tuesday sold a pair of pear-shaped diamond earrings at a hammer price of about $51 million (about R670m) – a record for earrings sold at auction.

Sold in separate lots, the Apollo Blue and Artemis Pink diamond earrings together just managed to exceed the low end of the pre-sale estimate price of $50m to $70m for the pair.

The earrings were the standout offerings at a Geneva auction of nearly 400 pieces of jewellery that reaped more than $150m altogether.

The highlight of the sale, the Apollo Blue, the largest internally flawless 14.54-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ever sold at auction, went for $37.5m. The 16 carat Artemis Pink sold for $15.5m – Jan de Beer