Sotheby’s has piqued our interest in their April auctions by introducing the Pink Star- a massive 59.6 carat pink diamond that promises to be a game changer in the world of precious gem auctions. According to predictions, the stone could fetch as much as $60 million. This is a return to auction for the Pink Star which was originally sold in 2013 at auction in Geneva where it was snapped up by diamond cutter Isaac Wolf for a whopping $83 million. Ultimately Wolf defaulted on payments and lost the stone only for the house to put it up for auction once again now that colored stones seem to be enjoying some success in the market.
“The last few years we’ve had colored diamonds perform extremely well, many new records been created at auction for the colored diamonds, pinks and blues mainly, so we thought it was a good time to bring it to the market,” David Bennett, worldwide Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division, told Reuters.
The Pink Star has a lot to recommend it. It is the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) yet is fit to be worn in a ring. Mined in 1999 in Botswana by De Beers, the mixed cut was originally a 132 carat rough diamond before being cut.
“The extraordinary size of this 59.60-carat diamond, paired with its richness of color, surpasses any known pink diamond record in history,” Bennett said. He also pointed out that the current record record for a pink diamond was held by the “Graff Pink” which at 24.78 carats is half the size of The Pink Star. The Graff was sold in Geneva for $46.2-million in 2010.
[Via:Theglobeandmail]
