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A rare pink diamond has been sold at auction for a record-breaking £29 million.

British jewellery trader Laurence Graff bid over the phone for the precious stone, which went under the hammer at a Sotheby's event in Geneva.

Weighing 24.78 carats, the gem, known as the 'fancy intense pink' is now the most expensive jewel sold at auction, almost doubling the record set by the 35.56-carat blue Wittelsbach-Graff stone, which changed hands for £15.2 million in 2008, and was also purchased by the wealthy investor.

Mr Graff has reportedly named his new possession the Graff Pink and said his purchase was the most fabulous diamond he had ever seen in his career.

The jewel, currently set as a ring, first appeared on the market 60 years ago when it was bought from the renowned Harry Winston, and had remained in private collections ever since.

In a recent auction of jailed Bernard Madoff's possessions, an anonymous buyer took home the engagement ring the former financier had proposed with for $550,000 (£344,000). 

The American Museum of Natural History is to put the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond on show from October 28th.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is to go on display at the American Museum of Natural History later this week.

Loaned to the institution by Laurence Graff, the 31.06-carat precious stone will be on show in the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Minerals from October 28th.

It recently made an appearance on the Today show in the US, where host Natalie Morales described it as "absolutely just perfect", MSNBC reports.

Discovered in India, the gem has been owned by Mr Graff since 2008, who has carried out repair work to reverse damage that had been done to the stone over the years.

It is classified as a Type IIb, a rare example that are believed to make up under 0.5 per cent of all diamonds.

The stone bears a similarity to the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC – and experts had considered the theory that the two gems were cut from the same stone, however recent comparisons have indicated this is unlikely.

A necklace featuring 251 diamonds is now on display at the Smithsonian after the museum was given the piece by an anonymous donor.

A necklace featuring hundreds of diamonds has gone on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Known as the Cullinan Diamond Necklace, the silver piece – which houses nine rare blue diamonds – was placed alongside the Hope Diamond in the museum yesterday, the Washington Post reports.

The item features 251 diamonds – including blue gems totalling 5.32 carats – and curator of the National Gem Collection Jeffrey Post told the news source its design is "typical of the Edwardian time period".

It is estimated to have been made around 1910 and features bows "and a lacy appearance", Mr Post added.

The necklace, which was on display at the Smithsonian in 1994, has been donated by an anonymous Californian to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the museum.

It has gone on display after an exhibition featuring the Hope Diamond and the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond – which was on display for the first time in over 50 years – ended on September 1st.