As expected earlier in our article “The Most Expensive Diamond in the World,” on November 13, 2013, a new record price was set for a diamond ever put up for public sale.
The unique 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond was sold at Sotheby's for CHF 76,325,000, or $ 83,187,000 . If we convert it into our money, the amount will be more than two billion rubles !
The Pink Star is the largest diamond of its class ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the leading organization in the field. The diamond measures 2.69 by 2.06 cm and weighs 11.92 grams.
In addition to its superior color grade, this diamond also belongs to a rare subgroup of diamonds with the purest crystals and excellent optical clarity, which comprises no more than 2% of all gem-quality diamonds.
According to David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's in Europe and the Middle East, “The pink diamond is without a doubt a truly stunning, royal stone. The world doesn’t know any other stones of this size and color.”
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Pink diamonds are the rarest among these precious stones. Scientists around the world to this day cannot find a logical explanation for the reason for their fantastic coloring.
And even though the “Pink Star ” is considered a fairly young stone (its history began in the 21st century), it already occupies an honorable first place among its “brothers.” The reason for this is the uniqueness of the gemstone. It’s not for nothing that it was called “pure” by experts from the American Gemological Institute, as it has the following characteristics:
- pure crystals in the composition;
- excellent optical clarity;
- the rarest pink color.
Cullinan, not rated
The Cullinan is the largest diamond in the world, weighing 3106.75 carats, i.e. 621.35. It was discovered in 1905. They gave the name in honor of the man who owned the mine.
Then it was presented to King Edward VII for his birthday. The cutter hired by the ruler realized that it would not be possible to make one diamond, but he did everything that depended on him. The result was 2 huge, 7 large and 96 miniature diamonds. The largest adorned the king's scepter and the crown of the British Empire.
The uniqueness of pink diamonds
The most common stones of unusual colors have always been yellow and blue. The demand for pink diamonds is due to their attractiveness and the romantic feelings that arise in people when they see them.
Gemologists, for example, know that yellow stones get their color from the presence of gold impurities. The blue color is formed due to the presence of boron in the diamond. But with pink diamonds, everything is not so simple - they do not contain certain chemical impurities. Therefore, scientists have assumed that the “romantic” color is the result of a change in the molecular structure of the stone due to seismic activity. And although the correctness of this hypothesis has not yet been confirmed by anything, they remain the most expensive diamonds in the world.
THE MYSTERY OF FANTASY SHADE
Pink diamonds belong to the class of fancy stones.
There are 4 hypotheses about the appearance of the rare color.
Pink dust
Temperature + pressure
The symbiosis of temperature and pressure inside the earth’s crust is the main hypothesis for the emergence of fancy stones. It is not known for certain what parameters are needed, but the effect on the diamond during its formation should be long-lasting.
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Pink dust
Proponents of this hypothesis believe that during the formation of diamond, tiny dust of ferrous or manganese compounds enters the structure. These elements supposedly give minerals their salmon or red hue. After careful research, the hypothesis was not confirmed, but it was not completely refuted either.
Lamproite
The lamproite tube is a rare natural phenomenon. Occurs during volcanic eruptions under certain conditions that are still poorly understood. Lamproite is the unique material of this pipe that contains purple or powdery colored diamonds. On the Australian continent, the object of desire of many girls is mined in the lamproite deposit.
Space hypothesis
Some scientists believe that pink diamonds were formed when a celestial body fell. Experts explain this by saying that when a meteorite passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the high temperature causes the formation of minerals. This hypothesis has many contradictions, so it was not considered as the main one.
The scientific community tends to favor a set of theories. Gemologists suggest that some of the stones arose under unique conditions of temperature and pressure, while the rest were formed as a result of volcanic eruptions or the fall of celestial bodies. This explains the significant differences in color depending on the location of the deposit.
Birthplace of pink “uniques”
Although many mines are searching for pink diamonds, the number of them is extremely small - only a few units per year, and in most cases they are of insignificant size. The main production of high-quality and large diamonds is carried out at the Argyle diamond mine in Australia, which is part of the industrial giant RioTinto. Diamond mining has been going on here since 1983 and supplies 90% of pink diamonds to world markets.
The largest and most beautiful examples from the Argyll mine are sold through an exclusive tender, where the company offers about 50 stones annually.
A diamond with an initial weight of 132.5 carats, which later became the largest diamond, was found in Africa by DeBeers (1999). It took Steinmetz Diamonds jewelers two years to cut it.
Countries of origin and processing
The country where pink diamonds are most often found is Australia. Here is the Argyll diamond mine, where for the first time in 20 years a natural diamond of unusual color and large size was discovered.
Unusual nuggets are mined in two more countries - Brazil and India. Pink gems are sometimes found in deposits in Yakutia, but when the stones are processed, the unusual shade disappears.
A pink diamond is a processed, faceted nugget. During processing, part of the mass is lost, but the stone only becomes more expensive. Pink diamond is used to make jewelry. Stones in their original form are kept in museums or private collections.
Crystal processing is carried out by jewelers. It can be cut in several ways - circle, oval, cabochon. Unusual shapes are rarely given to crystals, since most of them are lost. Diamonds are set in white gold or platinum.
Additionally, see how precious stones are processed:
Chronology of sales of the world's most expensive diamond
It became possible to look at the stone for the first time in 2003 at an exhibition in Monaco. It was then purchased by an unknown private party in 2007. The purchase amount, as well as the name of the buyer, were not announced at that time. But the new owner noted that he came up with a name for the diamond - Pink Star.
In 2010, it again became the subject of heated bidding at an auction in Geneva. With an estimated value of $27-38 million, Pink Star was purchased for a then-record $45.75 million.
In 2013, about 150 people traded for the stone at a Swiss auction. The starting price for the “Pink Star” was set at 48 million Swiss francs. During the auction, the price rose to a record high and the world learned how much the most expensive diamond costs - $83.18 million. The stone was sold to the famous New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolff
Interesting Facts
In addition to the fact that the unusual stone is distinguished by its beauty, it has some useful properties. The color of the morning dawn speaks of innocence, kindness and tenderness. The decoration will emphasize the sophistication and sophistication of the owner.
The price of purple nuggets does not depend on the global economic situation.
The value will only increase over time as the supply of rare diamonds decreases. To purchase a diamond, the buyer has to wait several years.
Interesting moments of the auction
During intense bidding, one of the “remote” buyers (by phone) announced a price that jumped over several “steps” at once - $73 million. After waiting the allotted time to think, Isaac Wolf announced an amount of 10 million more. The hall froze in anticipation of the reaction of the telephone buyer, but short beeps were heard at the other end of the line. With the final blow of the hammer, the soundtrack to the film “The Pink Panther” began to play in the hall.
Sancy, no rating
It is a yellow, teardrop-shaped stone that weighs 55.23 carats. The exact origin of the stone is unknown.
In 1570, Nicolas de Sancy bought it from a Turkish jeweler. Then he sold it to King James I, and for about half a century it belonged to the Stuarts until Cardinal Mazarin acquired it.
Then the stone became the property of the Bourbons, but during the revolution the treasury was plundered and famous diamonds disappeared.
In 1828, Pavel Demidov bought it for 80 thousand pounds, in 1865 he gave it to Jijiboy Jamsetji for 100 thousand pounds, who, in turn, resold it.
In 1906 , Sancy belonged to the American industrialist Astor, and their family owned it for 72 years. 4 Lord Astor sold this stone to the Louvre in 1978 for $1 million.
Predecessors
Before the high-profile auction, the status of the world's most expensive diamond belonged to the Pink Graff, a stone sold at Sotheby's in 2010 for just over $46 million. The ring with the exquisite pink stone was bought by the famous British jeweler L. Graff, and he immediately “modestly” gave the diamond his last name. The weight of the quadrangular stone is 24.78 carats. Previously, it belonged to the American jeweler G. Winston and went under the hammer (as many as six decades ago) into the hands of a private collector. The uniqueness of the stone lies in the fact that the physical type (IIa) to which it is classified makes up only 1.8% of all mined jewelry diamonds.
Another large diamond with the highest price, the Winston Legacy, is clear in color, pear-shaped, and weighs 101.73 carats (236 before cutting). Based on the results of auctions in 2013, it was acquired by a jewelry company (after which it was renamed) for $26.7 million.
“Wittelsbach-Graff” is an azure-blue diamond (35.56 carats), the name is derived from the names of the 2 jewelers who owned it. In 2008, it was purchased by L. Graff at the Christie's London auction for $24.3 million. The stone was then re-cut, after which its weight was 31.06 carats. This step was taken to reveal his true color to the world. In 1664, the blue diamond became the dowry of the daughter of the Spanish King Philip IV, Margarita Teresa, and in 1772 - the property of the Wittelsbach family. In 1964, the diamond was purchased by an anonymous buyer and was part of his collection for more than three decades.
Another representative of the exquisite color stones, which is called “Perfect Pink”, is a rectangular diamond weighing more than 14 carats. It was bought at a Christie's Hong Kong auction by a mystery buyer for $23.2 million and to this day holds the status of the most expensive diamond ever sold in Asia.
Blue Moon, $48,000,000
This is a blue diamond that weighs only 12.03 carats. It has a unique color and transparency. The diamond (29.6 carats) was found in South Africa in 2014.
In 2015, the stone was auctioned at Sotheby's, and it acquired the name “ Blue Moon .” There they managed to sell it for 48.4 million dollars. It was bought by a businessman from Hong Kong. Joseph Lau bought it for his 7-year-old daughter Josephine.
The most expensive diamond jewelry
Of course, the purchase of such “grand” stones is, first of all, a profitable investment for their owners. But, as you know, diamonds are the best inlay for exquisite jewelry. It would be unfair not to talk about the most expensive and interesting of them.
The first place in terms of value belongs to the Graff Pink diamond ring, which was discussed above. This is followed by a ring with another pink “brother” in the center – Perfect Pink (14.23 carats). On the sides the decoration is inlaid with two white diamonds weighing 1.73 and 1.67 carats. The exquisite stones are set in 18k rose and white gold.
And the most recognizable to the public is the blue diamond necklace “Heart of the Ocean” - an exact imitation of the famous jewelry from the film “Titanic”. Created by jeweler Harry Winston from a 15-carat blue diamond, it was valued at $20 million and became the most expensive piece of jewelry worn at the Oscars. It’s no joke, even copies of necklaces are sold at auction for 3.5 million.
Perhaps the most unusual piece of jewelry is the diamond bikini that supermodel Molly Sims wore on the catwalk in 2006. It was “tailored” by Steinmetz Diamonds designer Susan Rosen, using platinum and diamonds (total weight more than 150 carats) as materials.
Centennial, $100,000,000
It was named after the largest English diamond mining company, which celebrated its centenary in 1988. The diamond weighed 599 carats. It was said that it was found shortly before the anniversary. But there is a version that this happened 2 years earlier, but the company employees were forced to remain silent about the find.
It was discovered in South African mines. The cutting was entrusted to the famous master Gabi Tolkovsky, and all conditions were created for him.
Centenary Diamond turned out to be unique, weighing as much as 273.85 carats. It took 3 years to cut. Then the De Beers company sold the stone. It is not known who purchased it and at what price. But it definitely cost at least 100 million dollars, because... This is the amount the diamond was insured for in 1991.
What affects the cost?
Pink diamonds are rare in nature, and one is not like the other. These minerals are not cheap, but the cost of one stone may exceed the price of another of the same color.
What does it depend on:
- Color. It is important that the mineral has a natural color. On sale you can find stones that have been given color artificially. Such products are cheaper. When purchasing, be sure to request a certificate confirming the naturalness of the diamond.
- Hue. Depending on which color the hue leans towards, such as yellow or purple (due to inclusions), the price ranges from higher to lower. There are a total of 20 shades of different saturations. The main ones are Purple Pink (PP), Pink (P), Brownish Pink (BP), Pink Champagne (PC) .
- Saturation. Naturally bright stones are always offered at auctions at a higher price, they go away much faster, and the competition for them is as intense as possible. According to color intensity, stones are divided into Very Intense, Intense, Strong, Medium, Medium Light .
- Size/Weight Great luck - a diamond weighing more than 5 carats. Accordingly, the cost of such jewelry is unimaginably high.
- Defects. It's no secret that a truly expensive mineral should contain as few defects as possible. Very often inclusions are almost impossible to notice with the naked eye, so it is important that an examination be carried out. A professional jeweler, using a magnifying glass or microscope, will see all the inclusions and defects, based on which it will be possible to talk about a decent price. Diamond clarity and color scale →
A pink diamond simply cannot be sold without a certificate; if it is missing, you should be wary. It is imperative to request additional expertise from trusted jewelers.
Kohinoor, not rated
This 105-carat diamond has a rich history that dates back to 1300. Now it is part of Queen Elizabeth's crown.
It came to Britain in 1850, when Queen Victoria reigned. In 1852, the diamond was recut to give it new colors. Its weight has become significantly less, from 191 to 108.9 carats, i.e. he lost more than 42% of his mass. The operation was called questionable.
In 1853, the Kohinoor was set into the British crown, along with 2 thousand other diamonds. Now he remains in the Tower with the crown.
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