Pink diamond fetches $26.6M at Sotheby's Geneva sale

GENEVA -- An extremely rare, purple-pink diamond mined in Russia, which Sotheby's described as "a true wonder of nature," sold for 24.4 million Swiss francs ($26.6 million) on Wednesday, the auction house said.

Sotheby's had estimated that the flawless oval gem, "The Spirit of the Rose," could fetch $23 million to $38 million at the Geneva sale.

Bidding opened at 16 million Swiss francs and climbed to the final hammer price of 21 million Swiss francs, plus commission. It was bought by a telephone bidder who chose to remain anonymous, Sotheby's said.

Jewelry expert Benoit Repellin, who led the sale, said it set a record for a diamond graded fancy vivid purple pink sold at auction. The stone weighing 14.83 carats was the largest pink diamond with that color grading to go on the block.

The diamond was named after a ballet performed by the Ballets Russes and its legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in 1911.

Mined by Russian diamond producer Alrosa in July 2017, it was cut from the largest pink crystal ever found in the country, Sotheby's said.

The diamond was shown in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei.

Colored stones have been greatly valued as an asset class by the super rich in recent years with top-quality pink diamonds especially prized.

The Argyle mine in western Australia, which produced the world's largest supply of pink diamonds, halted production last week due to depletion.

"The lucky buyer could well profit from prices soaring for pink diamonds in the coming years thanks to increased rarity," Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds, Europe's largest online diamond jeweler, said in a statement.

Naturally colored diamonds occur because they possess a particular lattice structure that refracts light to produce colored, rather than white, stones.

-reuters-

At $50 million, pink 'Legacy' diamond shines brightest in Christie's sale

GENEVA - The 'Pink Legacy', a diamond weighing just under 19 carats, fetched a record 50.375 million Swiss francs ($50 million) as it outshone all other auction lots at Christie's in Geneva on Tuesday.

Graded "vivid", the highest rating for a pink diamond's color, the gem is internally pure with a rectangular cut, and mounted on a platinum ring.

Once owned by the Oppenheimer Family, who built De Beers into the world's biggest diamond trader, the diamond had a pre-sale estimate of $30 to $50 million. The identity of the seller was not disclosed.

Vivid colored diamonds are the most strongly saturated gems, displaying the optimum hue of the stone. Most pink diamonds of this color weigh less than 1 carat, the auction house - which was holding its semi-annual jewellery sale - said.

Christie's said the 'Pink Legacy' achieved a new per-carat record for a pink diamond, and was the second most expensive one ever sold at auction.

($1 = 1.0073 Swiss francs)

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Rare pink diamond aims to make $50 million

GENEVA, Switzerland - The Pink Legacy, an exceptionally large pink diamond, is set to go under the hammer at Christie's in Geneva next week, when it is expected to bring in up to $50 million.

At nearly 19 carats, the vividly colored gem is extraordinary, Jean-Marc Lunel, an international jewellery specialist at Christie's, told AFP.

"If you consider that most pink diamonds weigh less than a carat, it is really something," he said.

The gem, which on Nov. 13 will be offered at auction for the first time, has been estimated at between $30 million and $50 million (26.5-44.1 million euros), and Lunel suggested it could hit the high end of that range.

"It is probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction," he said, insisting there was good reason to expect the rock to snatch an extraordinary price.

The rectangular-cut diamond has been graded "fancy vivid" -- the highest possible grade of color intensity.

Christie's pointed out that in the salesroom, fancy vivid pink diamonds over 10 carats are "virtually unheard of" and that only 4 vivid pink diamonds or over 10 carats have ever been offered for sale at auction.

One of them, the nearly 15-carat Pink Promise, was sold last November at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong for $32.5 million. That amounts to $2.176 million per carat, which remains the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

And in 2013, a huge pink diamond weighing 59.60 carats meanwhile went under the hammer at Sotheby's for $83 million, or $1.39 million per carat.

The Pink Legacy, set to headline Christie's annual Magnificent Jewels auction on Tuesday, used to belong to the Oppenheimer family, which for decades ran the De Beers diamond mining company, but Christie's refused to say who the current owner was.

It was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago, Lunel said.

"It was probably cut in the 1920s," he said, adding that it had not been altered since.

The classic rectangular cut is traditionally used for white stones, but is rare for pink diamonds.

"Imagine a domino that you have cut the corners off of," Lunel said, pointing out that the cut is a "classical so-called emerald cut", which stands out from the typical, more rounded, multi-faceted cuts used today.

Rahul Kadakia, Christie's international head of jewellery, meanwhile said in a statement in September that he expected The Pink Legacy to "cause immense excitement with collectors and connoisseurs of diamonds around the world".

"Its exceptional provenance will no doubt propel it into a class of its own as one of the world's greatest diamonds."

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LOOK: Pink diamond may fetch up to $50M at auction

A Fancy Vivid Pink diamond is estimated to sell for almost $50 million dollars, auction house Christie's said.

The diamond, weighing 18.96 carats, is the largest of its kind to be sold in the company's history, International Jewellery Director David Warren told Reuters in London.

"In 40 years of working at Christie's I've never seen anything like this in my life. It was a huge surprise when there it was, we saw it and couldn't quite believe that such a stone existed. It has wonderful purity and incredible brightness. It is beautifully cut, but it is the size and the color that just take your breath away," Warren said.

"The estimate is $30-50 million dollars which is the highest estimate we have placed on any piece of jewellery at any time," he added.

The diamond is on display in London this week ahead of going on auction at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, Switzerland on November 13.

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World's largest pink diamond fails to sell at Sotheby's auction

GENEVA - "The Raj Pink," the largest known diamond graded "fancy intense pink" for its rare color, was among several major jewels stranded on the auction block on Wednesday at Sotheby's sale in Geneva.

The cushion-shaped stone, weighing 37.30 carats and mounted on a ring, was billed as the star lot at Sotheby's semi-annual jewellery sale in the Swiss city. The pre-sale estimate for the diamond, found in South Africa in 2015, was $20 million to $30 million.

Bidding opened on "The Raj Pink" at 9.9 million Swiss francs ($10.02 million) and climbed to 14 million Swiss francs before stalling.

"It was not sold," David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby's international jewellery division who conducted the auction, told the crowded sale room.

Other major lots were left on the block, failing to meet the secret reserve price set by their sellers.

They included a blue diamond ring by Moussaieff, where the last bid was 12.4 million Swiss francs, and a pair of yellow diamonds that formerly belonged to the German princely family of Von Donnersmarck, which reached 7.8 million Swiss francs but failed to find a new owner.

Only 303 of the 349 lots found new owners, according to Sotheby's figures. In all, the sale netted 77.9 million francs.

A Harry Winston light pink diamond ring, described as an "absolutely sensationally beautiful stone" by Bennett, brought the strongest price of the night.

It sold for 12.6 million Swiss francs to a telephone bidder who purchased it from a European noble family which owned it since the piece was made by the New York jeweller around 1970, Sotheby's said.

"Pieces must be exceptional to sell today at the same level as two years ago," Eric Valdieu, a Geneva-based jewelery dealer formerly of Christie's, told Reuters after the auction.

The Raj Pink was not an easy stone to sell, he said, adding: "It was a modern, recent stone and not a 10 out of 10 in terms of its colour and form. It had no history," Valdieu said.

Another prominent dealer told Reuters: "It's a big disappointment. The timing was not good."

Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77Diamonds.com, Europe's largest online diamond jeweller, said in a statement: "I'm worried for the top end of the diamond market."

At rival Christie's on Tuesday night, an emerald and diamond necklace set with the largest flawless white diamond ever to come to auction sold for a world record 33.5 million Swiss francs ($34 million), the star lot at its Geneva sale.

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