An ultra-rare purple-pink diamond was sold for $26.6 million at an auction in Geneva. The diamond mined from Russia was described as a ‘true wonder of nature’ by the auction company Sotheby’s.
The 14.8-carat diamond, named “The Spirit of the Rose,” is the largest of its kind to go on the block, as 99 percent of all pink diamonds are under 10 carats. According to Benoit Repellin, a jewelry expert at Sotheby’s, the sale has marked a record for a diamond graded fancy vivid purple-pink that has been auctioned.
Sotheby’s had estimated that the flawless oval gem would fetch $23 million to $38 million at the Geneva sale. The binding started at $16 million, then climbed upward but the final price couldn’t reach up to the auction house’s calculation and it was hammered at $21 million, along with commission. The name of the bidder has not been revealed yet, as the person prefers to remain anonymous.
The auction of “The Spirit of the Rose” comes three years after the diamond was discovered from a mine in northwest Russia. Then weighing 27.85 carats, it is believed to be the largest pink crystal ever unearthed in the country. It took one year for the mining company Alrosa to cut and polish the stone.
The diamond is one of the three stones in the collection by Alrosa. The pink gem was named after a ballet performed by the Ballets Russes in honor of legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.
The jewel which belongs to a rare subgroup of diamonds that contain no nitrogen had also been termed as “internally flawless,” a measure of its clarity. As part of the auction, the diamond was exhibited in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei.
Colored stones have been greatly valued as an asset class by the super-rich in recent years particularly the top-quality pink diamonds. As per a non-profit organization Fancy Color Research Foundation, the price for these pink gems increased by 116 percent between 2010 and 2019.
The current price record for a pink diamond is held by 59-carat CTF Pink Star which was sold at an auction for $71 million at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in April 2017.
