A rare pink diamond is expected to set a new world record tomorrow at Sotheby’s auction in Geneva in a luxury lakeside hotel.
The unique 24.78- carat
diamond, which is estimated by to bring it between $27 million and $38 million, will be auctioned tomorrow, November 16, along with 500 lots of other rare and precious jewelry. If it brings in as much as auctioneers expect, it will top the previous record set by Christie’s when they sold the 35.56-carat grayish blue Wittelsbach-Graff diamond for $24.3 million in 2008.
The "fancy intense pink" stone’s beauty is flaunted by its unique emerald-cut featuring gently rounded corners. It is set in a platinum ring and flanked with two triangular white side stone diamonds. While the stone has one flaw, that is imperceptible to the naked eye, the auction house said that after a repolishing it could be graded “Internally Flawless.”
David Bennett, Sotheby Internationa’s Chairman for Europe and the Middle East, said that the stone is “one of the purest diamonds” like a bottle of “pink champagne.”
“During 35 years in the business at the top end of auctions, I have seen a lot of private collections around the world and I’ve probably only seen two or three other stones that come even close,” Bennett said.
Pink diamonds are known as being extremely rare, and this one has been classified as Type IIa, falling into a top tier that represents less than 2 percent of all diamonds. The pink stone has been off the market for 60 years since it was sold by New York jeweler Harry Winston. Martin Rapaport, of Rapaport Network News, put it well when he said, “It’s a beautiful stone.”
Despite its good looks, some believe that Sotheby’s might be holding high price expectations. “The trade price is probably around $750,000 a carat,” Rapaport told the Associated Press. “ A good price is a million a carat. I think only a consumer is going to pay that.”
And yet, in this shaky global economy, many investors are considering precious metals and jewels as potential investments. This very phenomenon has been pushing gold prices up and up. Gems and jewelry also offers super-rich a way to safeguard and easily move some serious cash.
Sotheby’s remains optimistic. “Diamonds and other rare gemstones are fetching strong prices,” said Bennet. “The market is very strong indeed if you look at the results. We had our best sale ever in Hong Kong last month,” he said, referencing $54 million in net sales.
