By Jill Newman
(nytimes.com) - Alisa Moussaieff was in her London office on May 14, having lunch and bidding over the phone on a 6.24-carat deep blue diamond ring at Christie’s in Geneva. Within minutes she had won it with a $12.7 million offer, a record price per carat for a deep blue diamond and well beyond the $5.4 million low estimate.
“It was a sensible price,” Mrs. Moussaieff said in a recent phone interview. The 96-year-old, who owns the family jewelry business, has been buying and selling diamonds and gemstones for more than 60 years and is considered an industry authority.
