It may have sold for nearly $30 million at Swiss auction, but an 18-carat pink diamond didn’t bring in as much interest as expected.

According to The Globe and Mail, the stunning jewel sold “on the lower end of the expected range.” It ended up going for 28.4 million Swiss francs ($28.8 million USD), which includes taxes as well as fees.

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While this is a huge price to pay for a diamond, experts predicted the pink gem would got for anywhere between $25 million to $35 million USD at the Christie’s auction, held in Geneva. The buyer of the rare stone hasn’t been identified, but the auction house said the new owner is from Asia.

The seller’s identity also wasn’t revealed to the public. Describing the jewel as a “true miracle of nature,” Max Fawcett, who heads Christie’s jewellery department in Geneva, explained it was mined in Brazil over 15 years ago.

Natural, pink diamonds are one of the rarest colors of diamonds to exist. The majority of the world’s pink diamonds come from the Argyle Mine in Australia, although only 1% of the diamonds from the mine are pink.

Tobias Kormind, the managing director of 77 Diamonds, said the final selling price was a disappointment.

“The extraordinary Fortune Pink diamond sold in Geneva, with its auspicious 18.18 carat weight, which signifies prosperity in Asia, sadly didn’t bring the luck or uplift in fortunes many had hoped for,” he explained.

Although this pink diamond may have not sold for as much as hoped, others have broken world records.

Just last month, a pink diamond broke a world record by being the most expensive diamond per carat to be sold in history. The 11.15-carat piece sold in Hong Kong in October for a whopping $57.5 million USD, which was double what it was expected to go for.

Known as the Williamson Pink Star, the jewel took its name from two others famous diamonds, including one given to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947.

Following its historic sale, Tobias Kormind spoke about the diamond, saying the selling price proves the resilience of precious gems. “This is an astounding result, proving the resilience of top diamonds in a shaky economy,” the 77 Diamonds managing director said.

He continued, “Hard assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability. Some of the world’s highest quality diamonds have seen prices double over the last 10 years.”

Could you imagine spending tens of millions of dollars on a single stone?

Sources: Globe and Mail, Laura Preshong,

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