The pink diamond of “unique color and brilliance” is expected to fetch more than R$180 million when it goes on sale in New York, Sotheby’s auction house announced on Wednesday (29).
Weighing 10.57 carats and named Eternal Rose the “ultra-rare” gemstone will be auctioned this June, four years after the South African company De Beers discovered it in one of its mines in Botswana.
Officially classified as a “pink purplish”, it is the most valuable diamond of its hue to ever appear at auction, according to Sotheby’s. The auction house’s head jeweler for the Americas, Quig Burning, said in a statement that the stone was “joining the ranks of the most important diamonds in history.”
The price of diamonds is largely determined by what gemology experts look at: carat, cut, color and clarity. For the latter classification, the stone was classified as “internally flawless”, meaning that any blemishes are only visible under close magnification. Meanwhile, its color has been designated “extravagant vivid”, the highest degree of intense color achieved by just 4% of pink diamonds.
“This color is the most beautiful and concentrated shade of pink in diamonds that I have ever seen or that has ever hit the market,” said Burning, adding, “The immense presence and sheer rarity of Eternal Rose makes it comparable to the masterpieces of art. much rarer than a Magritte or a Warhol”.
Pink diamonds have increased in value in recent years. This is due, in part, to a drop in supply caused by the 2020 closure of Australia’s Argyle Mine, which previously produced most of the world’s pink diamonds.
According to an index compiled by brokerage Australian Diamond Portfolio, the average price of colored stones jumped 30% in just the 12 months to June 2021.
The Eternal Rose was cut from a rough diamond, discovered in 2019, which at 23.87 carats weighed more than twice as much as it does now. Diamond company Diacore took six months to transform the stone into its current form.
Less than 3% of diamonds shipped to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) are colored, with pinks among the rarest, Sotheby’s said. In the auction house’s press release, GIA Executive Vice President Tom Moses called the Eternal Pink a “stunning specimen”, adding that its “refined lines combined with the intensity of its color earn it a place as one of the most extraordinary jewels in the world”.
The stone will be unveiled in Hong Kong on Saturday (1st). It will then be shown in multiple cities including Dubai, Singapore and Geneva before heading to New York for sale in June.
The auction record for a pink diamond – or a polished diamond of any color – is currently held by a 59.6-carat stone that sold for more than £100 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2017. The pink diamond was bought by Hong Kong jewelers Chow Tai Fook and renamed “CTF Pink Star”.
An 11.15-carat pink diamond dubbed the “Williamson Pink Star” holds the record for the highest price per carat at auction after selling for more than $100 million last year.
Source: CNN Brasil
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