Film boss' wife buyer of world's most expensive briolette diamond
Pear-shaped and flawless, the China Star Diamond is said to be “the largest and most perfect briolette diamond” ever to be auctioned, according to Christie’s Asia.
The wife of showbiz mogul Charles Heung Wah-keung, is the “anonymous Asian buyer” of a 75.36 carat briolette diamond - one of the world’s most expensive ever to come under the hammer.
Tiffany Chen, vice chairwoman of Hong Kong-listed China Star Entertainment, named the HK$86.1 million stone after the company at the viewing gallery of auction house Christie’s in Central on Tuesday.
Now called the “China Star Diamond”, the stone was purchased by Chen at the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction on May 28 for a record US$148,000 per carat.
Pear-shaped and flawless, it is said to be “the largest and most perfect briolette diamond” ever to be auctioned, according to Christie’s Asia.
Reuters reported that it arrived at American diamond dealership, William Goldberg, as a 160.5 carat rough. The stone is a rare Type IIa diamond similar to the Koh-i-Noor diamond set into Queen Elizabeth's crown.
Christie's also set a US$26.7 million record in Geneva last month for a pear-shaped colourless diamond which was also said to be the largest ever auctioned.
Heung, a former actor with alleged family links to the triads, has corporate interests spanning entertainment, tourism, gaming and film production.
His film company, China Star, was founded in 1992 and is responsible for producing films such as Election and Mad Detective. He is the company’s chairman.
