A pink diamond named after the famous Japanese cherry blossom flowering trees of the same colour has sold at auction for a record price.
Key points:
The pink diamond sold for more than $37 million
Two bidders arguedthe price up more than $HK50 million over the opening bid
An auctioneer said it is the largest diamond of its kind to go to auction
“The Sakura Diamond,” a 15.81-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond ring set a world auction record price for a diamond with this rare colour combination, fetching$226million Hong Kong dollars ($37.7 million) on Sunday.
The ring was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong. Bidding opened at $HK170million and climbed to the final hammer price of $HK226.275 million, plus commission.
It was bought by a telephone bidder.
‘Sakura’ is the Japanese word for cherry blossoms that bloom for a very short period at the beginning of spring.
While it was the largest and most expensive, it wasn’t the only pink diamond sold at the high-єɴԀ auction.
The ‘Sweet Heart’ diamond, shaped like a love heart, also sold for a far more modest price of $HK50 million ($8.3 million).
The previous price record for a purple-pink diamond is held by “The Spirit of the Rose”. The 14.83-carat stone sold at auction for more than $33.6 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2020.
