Diamond mined in Golconda auctioned for record $21.5m

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A cushion-shaped internally 76.02-carat flawless Golconda diamond was auctioned for a record price of $21.47 million (£13.5 million) by Christie’s in Geneva on Tuesday evening.

The diamond, mined in India’s famous Golconda mines, is named after its first recorded owner, Archduke Joseph August of Austria (1872-1962). The diamond’s history before this is unknown.

The diamond was purchased by an anonymous bidder. The sale was a record for a colourless diamond, a colourless Golconda diamond and for price per carat of a colourless diamond ($280,000 per carat).

“The Archduke Joseph Diamond of 76.02 carats sold for $21.5 million, a world record price per carat for a colourless diamond. The historical gem led Christie's jewellery auction which totalled $85 million,” François Curiel, president of Christie’s Switzerland and international director of Christie’s jewellery department, said.

The 34.98-carat Beau Sancy diamond, also from the Golconda mines, was auctioned in Geneva in May this year by Sotheby’s for $9,699,618 (£5 million).

The diamond mines of Golconda were the world’s sole source of diamonds until the discoveries of diamond mines in Brazil in the 1720s. Diamond mining in India is believed to have started about 400 BC.

Golconda diamonds are still considered to be the finest and possess superb luminousness and transparency. Experts around the world widely agree that all diamonds which display this special luminousness are of Indian origin. The famous Golconda diamonds include the Koh-i-Noor, Darya-e-Nur and the Hope diamond.

The Archduke Joseph diamond was kept in a safe during the Second World War and re-appeared at auction in London in June 1961. In November 1993, it was sold for $6,480,000.

“I am thrilled but not surprised that the Archduke Joseph Diamond should have fetched such a high price. It is considered the finest and largest perfect Golconda diamond ever to appear at auction, with a noble lineage and royal provenance which literally ‘Fit for a Queen.’ I was blessed to be the Archduke’s guardian and champion for the past 13 years, and indeed it has become part of my very identity,” Alfredo J. Molina, the diamond’s former owner and CEO of America’s Black, Starr & Frost jewellers, said after the sale.

“I wish the Archduke Joseph Diamond Godspeed…and I know its new owners will delight in its beauty, charisma and mystery as I have for so many happy years,” he added.