World Record for Sale of a Pink Diamond at Auction

Christie's auction house announced that on Tuesday, a piece of pink diamond was sold for over $50 million (including fees) at an auction, setting a world record for the price per carat for this pink diamond. According to Christie's, the famous jeweler 'Harry Winston' is the buyer of this diamond. According to the Associated Press, Christie's had predicted that this rectangular-shaped 19-carat diamond, the largest and most attractive pink diamond ever auctioned, would sell for between $30 to $50 million. This diamond was sold at Christie's autumn jewelry auction in Geneva. The final sale price of this unique jewel, including fees, is $50,375,000. The Oppenheimer family, major diamond traders, previously owned this jewel, and according to Christie's, this diamond is among the best in terms of chemical purity, with almost no nitrogen compounds present. The director of jewelry sales at Christie's stated that during its 251 years of operation, the auction house has sold only four pink diamonds weighing over 10 carats. Francois Curiel, the head of Christie's European division, described this jewel as the 'Leonardo da Vinci' of diamonds. He stated, 'The sale of this piece, dubbed the Pink Legacy, for over $50 million means that the price per carat is about $2.6 million, setting a world record for pink diamonds. The previous record was $2.1 million for a larger jewel weighing over 50 carats.' The Christie's jewelry auction was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. Sotheby's, another major auction house for art and valuable objects, began its autumn jewelry auction on Wednesday and is set to auction part of Marie Antoinette's jewelry, which has not been seen in public for 200 years.