Rare gem called 'Mona Lisa of pink diamonds' with India roots sells for $14.6 million at Geneva auction

The emerald-cut 24-carat fancy intense pink diamond is considered to be an extremely rare jewel.

A 24-carat fancy intense pink diamond ring sold Tuesday at auction for 12.1 million Swiss francs (more than $14.6 million), in the middle of the expected range, Christie's said.

A Sotheby's employee displays the Superb Unmounted Fancy Intense Pink Diamond. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

The emerald-cut “Bulgari Pink” had been expected to fetch 10-15 million francs ($12-18 million) as the headline item of the auction house's seasonal jewelry sale in Geneva.

The extremely rare jewel, believed to have come from the famous Golconda mines in India, has remained with the same family since it was purchased there in the 1950s.

Ahead of the sale, Max Fawcett, Christie’s global head of jewelry, trumpeted the stone as “the Mona Lisa of pink diamonds.”

The Golconda mines in southern India have produced some of the world’s most celebrated diamonds, including the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope Diamond.

Also going under the hammer was a private collection comprising nearly 300 twentieth-century jewels, including works by Bulgari, Cartier and Graff.