The largest diamond ever offered at auction went under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday evening for nearly $34 million, a world record for gem of its kind, the Christie's auction house said.

The 163.41-carat flawless D colour diamond, suspended from an emerald and diamond necklace called The Art of Grisogono, sold for 33.5 million Swiss francs ($33.8 million, 28.7 million euros), after taxes and commissions, marking "a new world-record price for a D colour diamond at auction," Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Christie’s Jewels, told AFP.