A 59.6 carat diamond known as the "Pink Star" was auctioned in Geneva on Wednesday for US$83 million setting a world record for a gemstone. Mr David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewellery division in Europe and the Middle East, brought down the hammer in a Geneva hotel after an intense, five-minute bidding race.

The bidding in Geneva was conducted in Swiss francs, starting at 48 million (S$65 million) and working its way upwards million-by-million.