Sotheby’s sets world record for any diamond or jewel ever sold

The gem is the largest flawless fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

The Pink Star is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond in the world. Courtesy of Sotheby's
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Sotheby’s sold a 59.6 carat pink diamond for $71.2 million (Dh261 million) on Tuesday, setting a new world record for any diamond or jewel, according to the auction house.

Pink Star, an oval mixed-cut diamond, smashed the $60 million pre-sale estimate set by Sotheby’s when it went on the block in Hong Kong.

The sale comes three years after the gem was sold at an even higher price at another Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. That deal later fell apart after the buyer defaulted.

The gem is the largest flawless fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America. Three telephone bidders competed for the stone during five tense minutes of bidding.

The crowd in the packed auction room applauded when it was sold for a hammer price of $63 million, not including the buyer’s premium.

Sotheby’s Asia Chairwoman Patti Wong confirmed the winning bidder to be Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai Fook.

“We’re very happy,” Wong said. “I know there was a lot of talk about the economy in China not being as positive as it was a few years ago, but the results from its jewellery auction Tuesday, which included nearly 200 other lots, were very strong,” she said.

Until now, the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction was the Oppenheimer Blue, which fetched 56.8 million Swiss francs (Dh208 million) last May.

The previous world auction record for a pink diamond was $46.2 million (Dh169 million) for the 24.78 carat Graff Pink in 2010.

Sotheby’s decided the time was right to bring the diamond back to the market because of rising demand from wealthy Asian buyers.

The Pink Star was mined in Africa by De Beers in 1999 as a raw 132.5 carat gem and cut over a two-year period.

Associated Press