Sun-Drop yellow diamond sells for $10.9M

A rare Sun-Drop yellow diamond sold at Sotheby's in Geneva for $10.9 million, the BBC reported.

The pear-shaped diamond, which was discovered in South Africa last year, is 110.3 carats. It is said to be one of the largest diamonds ever to appear at auction, BBC stated.

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"It sold for a record for a yellow diamond," Sotheby's auctioneer David Bennett told reporters. "It was exactly within our expectation for this spectacular stone."

A telephone bidder bought the diamond, which gemologists rated as "fancy vivid yellow," the highest color grading for the diamonds, the Associated Press reported.

"The color in yellow diamonds is caused by nitrogen impurities trapped within carbon molecules and hardened over the course of millions of years," it stated.

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