The famous 32.01 square Annenberg diamond sold at auction to an unnamed phone buyer on Wednesday.  The diamond, known for it’s near-flawlessness, was bought by Leonore Annenberg for her 90th birthday.  She died in March at age 91.  Christie’s auction house had the gem delivered to her by armed guards in celebration of her birthday. 

Annenberg served as the US Chief of Protocol during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, a position that granted her diplomatic status.  Her husband, Walter Annenberg, was a billionaire who was both a publisher and the Ambassador to England under Richard Nixon.  The Annenberg name gave the diamond even further importance.  Richard Annenberg died in 2002.

The Emerald-Cut diamond is set in a ring designed by New York jeweler David Webb, who flanked the center walnut-sized stone with pear-shaped diamonds, one weighing 1.61 carats, and the other 1.51 carats.  Although Christie’s set the pre-sale estimate for the masterpiece at $3-$5 million, it was clearly coveted by many, and well exceeded expectations. 

At an earlier Christie’s auction in May, a 30-carat square-cut diamond sold for $3.1 million.  The highest price ever paid for a diamond at auction was the Wittelsback Diamond, a 17th-Century gray-blue 35.56-carat gem.  It sold for a whopping $24.3 million in December of 2008. 

The diamond was put up for sale as part of the Annenberg estate.

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