Christie’s has sold the “Pink Legacy” diamond at auction for more than $US50 million ($69.3 million) including fees, saying it is a new world record price per carat for a pink diamond.
Key points:
It is the largest fancy vivid pink diamond that Christie’s has ever put up at auction
The stone once belonged to the Oppenheimer diamond family
The previous world record was $US2.1 million for a larger stone
Christie’s said renowned jeweller Harry Winston was the buyer.
The auction house had expected to fetch $US30 million to $US50 million for the nearly-19-carat, rectangular-cut stone, the largest fancy vivid pink diamond that it has ever put under the hammer.
It was the standout offering at Christie’s fall jewellery auction in Geneva.
The standing-room-only ballroom broke into applause after the auctioneer struck down a hammer price of $US44.5 million. That excludes the standard “buyer’s premium” and other fees.
All told, the diamond went for $US50.375 million, including the fees.
The stone once belonged to the Oppenheimer diamond family, and Christie’s said it is among the most chemically pure gems — with little if any nitrogen.
Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s head of international jewellery, said the auction house has sold only four diamonds weighing more than 10 carats of the same colour in its 251 years in business.
Christie’s chairman for Europe, Francois Curiel, called the stone the “Leonardo da Vinci of diamonds”.
“The ‘Pink Legacy’ … bɾօυɢҺt this extremely high price of $50 million — so $US2.6 million per carat, which is a world record price for a pink diamond,” Mr Curiel said.
“The previous record was $US2.1 million, but for a much larger stone: Over 50 carats.”
Christie’s sale kicks off two days of jewellery auctions in Geneva.
On Wednesday, Sotheby’s will auction jewellery once owned by French Queen Marie Antoinette that had not been seen in public for 200 years.
