One of the world’s greatest natural treasures, the Pink Star diamond – a diamond simply too good for words – will lead Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite in Hong Kong on Tuesday, April 4.
Valued in excess of £48 million, the 59.60-carat oval mixed-cut pink diamond is the largest Internally Flawless, Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
The Pink Star is expected to exceed what is currently the most expensive diamond sold at auction, the £46.4 million Oppenheimer Blue.
Coloured gemstones are bang on trend. Kate Middleton’s engagement ring – which once adorned the fourth finger on the left hand of the former Diana Princess of Wales – carries a 12-carat blue Ceylon sapphire while JLo, Jennifer Lopez, proved her standing as Hollywood royalty wearing a 6.1 carat pale pink engagement ring while dating Ben Affleck.
However, the Pink Star is the top dog, being part of a subgroup of diamonds known for their unique levels of purity and “extraordinary optical transparency”.
The stone was unveiled in London this week to whip up interest ahead of it going under the hammer in Hong Kong.
Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division, David Bennett, said: “At a time of unprecedented demand for the finest in coloured diamonds, I am delighted to be bringing this magnificent stone to market.
“The extraordinary size of this 59.60-carat diamond, paired with its richness of colour, surpasses any known pink diamond recorded in history.
“The Pink Star is a true masterpiece of nature, beyond characterisation with human vocabulary.”
The diamond was mined by De Beers in Africa in 1999, recording 132.5 carats before it was cut and polished over two years.
The buyer will get a letter issued by the GIA guaranteeing the diamond’s provenance.
The Pink Star is more than twice the size of the “Graff Pink” – the 24.78-carat Fancy Intense Pink diamond which currently holds the world auction record for any pink diamond when it went for £37 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010.
But you don’t have to have a rock the size of the Pink Star to want to make sure your valuables are well protected.
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