‘Pink Star’ diamond commands $83m at auction
Register to get 1 more free article
Reveal the article below by registering for our email newsletter.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
A pink diamond weighing almost 60 carats has been sold at auction for $83m (£52m) in Geneva – the largest sum ever paid for a gemstone of any kind at auction.
The stone, dubbed the ‘Pink Star’, was sold to Isaac Wolf, a famous diamond cutter, who announced that he is re-naming the stone the ‘Pink Dream’.
It is oval-cut and is the largest internally flawless vivid pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever verified.
As the auctioneer, David Bennett, brought down the gavel, he said: “[This] is the world record bid for a diamond ever bid and it’s right here.” Sotheby’s then played the theme music from The Pink Panther.
The previous world record for an auction price for jewels or gemstones is $46.2m, achieved in 2010 with the sale of the Graff Pink, a 24.78-carat stone which was also sold by Sotheby’s.
The chairman of Sotheby’s European jewellery division, David Bennett, said: “This 59.50-carat stone is simply off any scale and passes, I believe, into the ranks of the earth’s greatest natural treasures.”
This latest record-breaker, which was mined by De Beers and cut from a 132-carat piece of rough, has been known to the general public since a grand unveiling in Moncaco back in 2003, and has spent several years touring exhibitions including the De Beers Millenium Star.
