The most valuable diamond ever to be offered at auction – estimated “in excess of USD 60 million” – will go under the hammer at a Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction in Geneva on November 13th. The “59.6-carat Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond”, described as “one of the world’s natural treasures” was mined by De Beers at an unknown location in Africa in 1999, as a 132.5-carat rough diamond, and subsequently cut and polished by Steinmetz Diamonds.
Pink diamonds are the rarest of all coloured diamonds and were originally found in mines in India. David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewellery division in Europe and the Middle East and chairman of Sotheby's Switzerland, said "the Pink Star's exceptional richness of colour – graded as 'vivid pink' by the Gemological Institute of America – combined with its extraordinary size, are characteristics that surpass those of any known pink diamond in State, Royal, or private collections". It is twice the size of the magnificent "Graff Pink" – the 24.78-carat "fancy intense pink" diamond which established a world auction record for a diamond and any gemstone or jewel at $46.2 million at Sotheby's Geneva in 2010. Separately Christie's has announced the sale of "the Orange", the largest "fancy vivid orange" diamond, weighing about 14.82 carats, to appear for sale at auction.
