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    Rare yellow diamond expected to fetch $11-15M

    GENEVA (AP) — A rare yellow pear-shaped diamond is expected to fetch $11-15 million at auction next week, and the buyer will have the chance to name it, Sotheby's said Wednesday.

    The so-called Sun-Drop Diamond is described as fancy vivid yellow — the highest color grading — by gemstone experts. It is the largest known diamond of its kind, at 110.3 carats.

    "It looks the weight," said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby's jewelry division. "At the same time it's a very bright stone," he added, as a model showed off the diamond to photographers before the Nov. 15 sale at Geneva's Beau-Rivage hotel.

    The jewel is being sold by Cora International, which discovered the diamond in South Africa only last year — meaning it has no history of previous wearers.

    "Some people find it very attractive to own a stone that's been lying untouched in the earth for millions of years," Bennet told The Associated Press.

    Other lots include a suite of jewels given by the Ottoman Empire's Sultan Abdul Hamid II to the wife of the Khedive of Egypt in the late 19th century.

    The set comprising a necklace, brooch and pair of earrings could fetch $10 million. Some of the gems may have been part of a peace offering given by Russian Czar Peter the Great's wife Catherine to Ottoman Sultan Ahmed II in 1711, Sotheby's said.

    The jewel auction is preceded by a sale of historic watches Nov. 13. Items include timepieces worn by India's first president, Rajendra Prasad, and a Rolex belonging to German chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

    The classic gold watch was presented to Adenauer by Rolex's German founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1955. A letter from Wilsdorf explains that Adenauer would be able to wear the watch during his daily bath without harming the mechanism. It is not known if Germany's first chancellor after World War II ever did so.

    Despite global economic jitters the market for high-end luxury goods remains healthy, said Bennet. Last year, Sotheby's sold a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond for a record-breaking $46 million.

    What do you think?

    What is the draw of luxury items?

    Status Quality
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    • A Yahoo User  •  6 mths ago
      Bet Kim Kardashian is looking for some sucker to buy it for her.
    • Death of the Dems  •  Tallahassee, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Kim has to find a new hubby now to buy this Rock
      • Anonymous 6 mths ago
        Next time, she better find one who makes more money then she does pimping herself out.
    • jasmine  •  6 mths ago
      Who in the world is gonna walk around with a rock that big on?
    • Gabriel  •  Seoul, South Korea  •  6 mths ago
      Why does Africa have all these rare gems,gold and diamond mines but can't share the wealth to feed their own people? Just something for there Leaders to think about.
      • ShanMan 6 mths ago
        what do you mean? every child in africa gets a new AK-47 for christmas.
      • A Yahoo! User 6 mths ago
        Shaman you are the biggest foool ever what are you talking about do you how kids suffer here they dont even have shoes on their feet whites have taken everything from them
      • Jason 6 mths ago
        white imperialist.
    • Joe  •  Ventura, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Luckily the starving children that dug it up got to eat that day. Today is another day of digging!!!
      • Bill 6 mths ago
        Whats your point? If it is sold, that means money is circulating, people are working.
      • Wimpy 6 mths ago
        What make you think that anybody let them eat?
      • PaulK 6 mths ago
        ...and they probably used the one arm they had left to dig with.

        @ Bill, ignorance is bliss.
    • NE  •  Pittsburgh, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Im gonna buy it and ask Kim Kardashian to marry me. Thumbs up if you think she will say yes.
    • Larry  •  6 mths ago
      Not exactly the ring you'd wear to McDonalds while you're picking up your burger and fries... LOL ...... As a matter of fact, where the hell could you wear it and not worry about someone running up and chopping off your hand to get it. Whew....... that would hurt!!
    • Demun  •  Atlanta, United States  •  6 mths ago
      That's an awesome diamond but 11-15 million? I could think of many better things to do with thtat kind of money...
    • Robert  •  Corpus Christi, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Now Kim Kardashian has another reason to find a new husband!
    • Mattie  •  6 mths ago
      That is a very ugly ring it would be better if the diamond was smaller or set in a necklace.
    • alan  •  Kansas City, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Not only are diamonds a big con, but now they're pulling an even bigger one. "Yellow diamonds" are the ones with too many impurities. They used to throw them away. Now they give them a new name and make people think they're special and, voila, a new market.
    • me  •  Phoenix, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Diamonds are one of the biggist con's ever pulled.
    • Bamcubz  •  Fort Walton Beach, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Besides being W A Y out of My price range, its just to gaudy to even wear. Put it in a museum for all to admire.
    • Ernest  •  Merced, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Just remember average people in America complaning about the super rich ...while your eating a a cheeseburger from Mcd's theres some people in the world think your super rich from just being able to buy a cheseburger a couple times a month!!!

      And saying they can do a lot more things with a dollar
    • Rowan  •  Kohler, United States  •  6 mths ago
      I honestly think that is ugly as hell.
    • t c  •  6 mths ago
      Wow, and only about 10 times my lifetime earnings. Better order 2.
    • NY2VA11412  •  6 mths ago
      With an anticipated selling price in the tens of millions...couldn't they have sprung for a decent hand model? This woman's stubby, little fingers make the ring look like a dime-store fake.
    • Benjamin Check  •  6 mths ago
      Diamonds aren't even rare, they are hoarded to make them valuable. DeBeers has thousands of 100 carat+ diamonds locked up so they can charge outrageous prices for a worthless rock.
    • marnie  •  Daytona Beach, United States  •  6 mths ago
      if I had a ton of money that's the last thing I'd spend it on
    • A Yahoo! User  •  6 mths ago
      I'll start my bidding at $1.37, broken action figure and a hubcap I found
      from a 1977 nova.
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