‘Pink Star’ diamond fetches over US$83m at auction
Enormous rock sets record price for a gemstone at Sotheby's sale in Switzerland
An enormous diamond known as ‘The Pink Star’ sold for more than US$83 million at auction on Wednesday night, far exceeding its expected price.
Sotheby’s says the sale of the vivid and flawless 59.60-carat pink diamond is the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at auction.
Prior to the sale to the successful bidder, representing an anonymous buyer, the diamond was estimated to fetch more than US$60 million. The bidding opened above US$52 million, and it closed with the playing of the Pink Panther movie’s theme music.
The exact sale price of ‘The Pink Star’ was 76.325 million Swiss francs, or US$83.425 million. It had been introduced prior to the bidding as “one of the most remarkable gems ever to appear at auction”.
The diamond is graded as a Type IIa, a rarity for a pink diamond, and it took Steinmetz Diamonds two years to cut it to form from a 132.5-carat rough diamond.
It was first shown publicly in May 2003 as the ‘Steinmetz Pink’, then sold privately for the first time in 2007 when it was renamed ‘The Pink Star’.