Indian diamond fetches record 16.9 million euros at auction

London: A 76-carat flawless diamond from India`s famous Golconda mines broke world record by fetching a whooping 16.9 million euro at an auction in Geneva.

The cushion shaped diamond of perfect D colour from the ancient mines, where the famous Koh-i-Noor and Blue Hope diamond originated, fetched a record price at an auction late last night, Guardian reported quoting an announcement by the Christie`s. "It is a world record for a Golconda diamond and a world record price per carat for a colourless diamond," Francois Curiel, director of the international jewellery department at Christie`s, told reporters. "It is comparable in its noble lineage and superb quality to the legendary Koh-i-noor," he said, adding that it was sold to an anonymous bidder and may apparently be on its way to a museum. The rare colourless diamond, weighing 76-carat was named after Austria`s Archduke Joseph August, a prince of the Hungarian line of the Hapsburgs, who reportedly deposited it in a bank vault in 1933. "Three years later it was sold to a European banker, and kept in France, locked away in a safe deposit box, where fortunately it remained undiscovered during the second world war," the auction house said. It surfaced at auction in 1961 and again at Christie`s in November 1993, netting 4m at the time. The stone was subsequently "slightly recut". PTI