Christie’s expects $28 million for this pink diamond

Image courtesy of Christie’s.

A 16.08-carat pink diamond, currently set in a ring, may soon become one of the10 most expensive precious rocks ever sold at auction, after it goes under Christie’s hammer in Geneva on Nov. 10.

The stone is a fancy vivid pink — meaning it’s the purest form of pink diamond — with no trace of secondary colours such as purple, orange, brown or gray. It is also a cushion cut, which enhances the colour, as explained by Christie’s in its website.

Prices for polished diamonds have seen better days. They fell further in October, continuing the trend since August, FT.com reports.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output in carats, recently announced it sold just 42% of the raw diamonds it mined in Q3.

But Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewellery, seems positive.

“Collectors are looking to jewels as savvy investments that are both beautiful and can appreciate considerably in value over a relatively short period of time,” he said in a statement.

Other diamonds that have made history are:

* The Pink Star, sold in 2013 at a Sotheby’s action in Geneva, fetched $83.2 million, but it was expected to fetch only $60 million.

The Pink Star, fetched $83.2 million in 2013 (Photo: Sotheby’s)

Described as one of “the earth’s greatest natural treasures”, the oval-cut 59.6 carat “Pink Star” is the largest flawless pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.

* The Wittelsbach-Graff, sold for $23.4 million at Christie’s in 2008. The rock is 31.06 carats and boasts a penetrating, though slightly less intense, blue colour.

The Wittelsbach-Graff sold for $23.4 million at Christie’s in 2008. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

This diamond entered into jewellery lore in the 17th century, when Philip IV of Spain gave it to his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa, upon her engagement to Emperor Leopold I of Austria. The diamond ended up with the House of Wittelsbach, a ruling Bavarian family, in 1722.

* Christies Perfect Pink, which fetched $23.2 million, it’s a 14.23-carat rock among the most rare and expensive in its class.

Christies Perfect Pink went for $23 million in Hong Kong in 2010. (Photo: Christie’s)

The rectangular gem went under the hammer at British art auction house Christie’s Hong Kong in 2010, where an anonymous bidder bought it. It set a record price for a jewel sold at auction in Asia.