A new record has been set in Hong Kong for the sale of a gemstone at auction. The previous record was held by the Oppenheimer Blue Diamond, which sold for $50m last May. That astonishing figure has now been toppled by a rare Pink Diamond known as the ‘Pink Star’, which sold in just five minutes for $71m (£57m), setting a new world record.
The largest vivid Pink Diamond ever found, the Pink Star was formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink and (briefly) as the Pink Dream. At 59.6 carats, the Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink gem was discovered in 1999 in South Africa and weighed 132.5 carats in the rough. It took a painstaking 20 months to cut the exceptional gem.
The gem had already set a record-breaking price in 2013 when it sold at a Geneva auction for $83m, but the sale fell through. This time, Sotheby’s have found a buyer in its Hong Kong auction.
Despite uncertainties in many financial markets across the globe, with a limited supply of rare Diamonds, it seems that the luxury Diamond market is as buoyant as ever.
