We present an R-band lightcurve of an optical transient which is likely to be associated with the gamma-ray burst event GRB 971214. Our first measurement took place 17 hours after the gamma-ray event. The brightness decayed with a power-law exponent alpha = -1.380 +- 0.013, which is significantly faster than the other two optically identified bursts, GRB 970228 and GRB 970508 which had exponents of alpha = -1.10 +- 0.04 (Galama et al. 1997) and alpha = -1.141 +- 0.014 (Galama et al. 1998) respectively. The transient decayed monotonically during the first four days following the gamma-ray event in contrast with the optical transient associated with GRB 970508 which increased in brightness, peaking two days after the burst, before settling to a power-law decay. This event provides clear observational evidence that the optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts are not universal. The differences are plausibly intrinsic but could also be due to varying source redshifts.