A Sotheby's employee holds the 'Fancy Deep Blue' diamond
© AFP Fabrice Coffrini

GENEVA (AFP) - The Fancy Deep Blue diamond, described by Sotheby's as "beauty personified," did attract stray interest on Wednesday evening but no acceptable bids.

"The diamond market is currently in a period of transition and it will probably not be clear where it is headed until the end of the year," said David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewellery for Europe and the Middle East.

"As in all markets in transition, potential buyers were reluctant to commit to purchase, which resulted in the three top diamond lots remaining unsold," he added.

The top lot sold was a Fancy Pink diamond ring weighing 8.02 carats, which fetched 1.59 million Swiss francs, Sotheby's said.

The whole sale fetched 17.9 million francs, taking the total from Sotheby's jewellery auctions in Geneva for 2008 to 77.9 million francs.

©AFP