Yellow diamond sells for record $12.4 million

REUTERS - Sotheby's set a world record for the sale of a yellow diamond this week with the auction of the Sun-Drop Diamond for 11.2 million Swiss francs ($12.4 million).

Weighing 110.03 carats, the stone is the largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world and went on the block on Tuesday night as part of Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels sale.

"We are thrilled with the price achieved by this spectacular daffodil yellow diamond," Sotheby's Jewellery Department Chairman David Bennett said in a statement.

The auction series earned a total of $70.1 million, falling short of pre-sale estimates $72 million to $102 million for an auction series that included a group of diamonds and coloured gemstones.

An impressive 38.88 carat cushion-shaped diamond achieved $6.9 million and a fancy vivid blue cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut diamond weighing 4.16 carats, sold for $4.2 million.

The offering of coloured stones included a superb 12.01 carat Muzo emerald which rose above its pre-sale estimate, selling for $1.4 million.

Sotheby's next auction of Magnificent Jewels will take place in New York on 7 December 2011, featuring "The Light of Golconda," which is a rare Golconda diamond ring with a cushion-shaped diamond weighing 33.03 carats and estimated to sell for about $7 million).

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney)