A spectacular pink diamond, the largest of its kind to ever appear at auction, went under the hammer in Geneva on Tuesday, with an expected sale price of more than $23 million (21.4 million euros).
The precious jewel’s anticipated sale by Christie’s is part of a week of auctions that could see another coloured gemstone set a new world record.
That stone, a 12.03-carat blue diamond described by experts as flawless, is being sold by rival auction house Sotheby’s on Wednesday, possibly fetching a record $55 million.
“Coloured diamonds…have seen sustained growth during the last few years. Partly because of their great rarity, but equally because of their beauty,” said David Bennett, head of Sotheby’s international jewellery division.
Christie’s 16.08-carat pink diamond is the largest cushion-shaped stone classified in the elite “fancy vivid” category to come to auction.
Rahul Kadakia, the International Head of Jewellery at Christie’s, told AFP that the stone dubbed “In the Pink” could end up selling for more than $30 million.
He noted that the record price per carat for a pink diamond was set in December 2009 by Christie’s in Hong Kong, when a five-carat stone sold for more than $10 million.
If In the Pink, owned by an American family for the past 15 years, matches that mark, it could fetch more than $32 million he said.
The jewel, he added, has been priced “well below what it is actually worth.”
Christie’s said that only three pink stones classified by the Gemological Institute of America as “fancy” and weighing more than 10 carats have been up for sale in 250 years.
A pink diamond holds the current world record for sale at auction, set by Sotheby’s in November 2010 in Geneva, when a 24.78 carat pink diamond sold for $46 million.