GENEVA — A 100-carat yellow diamond has sold for 14.5 million Swiss francs ($16.3 million) to a private buyer, the star lot in a Geneva jewellery sale that Sotheby's auction house said fetched 125.5 million francs overall. The "Graff Vivid Yellow", weighing 100.09 carats, set a record for a yellow diamond, the chairman of Sotheby's Switzerland, David Bennett, said in a statement on Wednesday after Tuesday's sale. "With its exceptional size and a superb daffodil colour, the Graff Vivid Yellow is a truly extraordinary diamond with immense presence," Bennett said. However, the gem failed to hit the bottom end of its estimate, with a hammer price of 12.8 million francs. Sotheby's had expected that the cushion-shaped diamond, of which neither the seller nor buyer were identified, would reach a hammer price of between 13.4 million and 22.3 million francs. The total price, which Sotheby's said was equivalent to $163,331 per carat, includes commission fees known as the "buyer's premium". It gave no reason for it missing the estimate. The auction house said the evening set a world record for a jewellery auction. — Reuters
