Pink Diamond

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : Jewels  African gems
Chronology : 1960  21st century  2000-2009  2003  2020 to now

Clarity Grades

The scale of clarity is : Flawless, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2.

Fancy Vivid Pink

1
​1999-2003 IF, The Pink Star
2013 hammered at 76 MCHF including premium, UNPAID
2017 SOLD for HK$ 550M by Sotheby's

The Pink Star is unquestionably and by far the greatest polished diamond that ever hit the auction market. It should have fetched CHF 76M including premium at Sotheby's on November 13, 2013 but that sale was cancelled for buyer payment deficiency. 

It had been expected beyond US $ 60M, a conservative estimate when we consider that it is "only" US$ 1M per carat, but nevertheless ambitious because no other diamond has ever reached such a price at auction. 

Its come back was eagerly awaited by all the fans of highest jewelry and of auction history. It was sold for HK $ 550M by Sotheby's on April 4, 2017, lot 1801. Its expected value has been kept unchanged before from the 2013 auction.

Its subtle color, Fancy Vivid Pink, is the best graded among diamond colors. Internally Flawless means a perfect clarity. Its weight, 59.60 carats, is the highest recorded for finished flawless diamonds of that color. The fancy vivid pink weighing more than 10 carats are extremely rare.Its oval shape and its polish are the perfect result of two years of work executed by Steinmetz Diamonds.

It comes from a rough gem of 142.5 carats unearthed in 1999 by De Beers somewhere in Africa, which is currently the best location for new fabulous diamonds. Its mixed cut had required more than 50 subsequent models from epoxy casts. It was unveiled to the public in 2003.

Please watch the videos shared by Sotheby's : the 2013 pre sale video and the short video introducing the 2017 auction :

2
IF, The Williamson Pink Star
2022 SOLD for HK$ 450M by Sotheby's

The open pit Williamson diamond mine was discovered in 1940 in Tanganyika, later Tanzania, by its namesake first owner. Locally known as the Mwadui mine, it is one of the best diamond mines outside of South Africa.

The Williamson is famous for its high quality pink diamonds. A virtually flawless pink cut down to 23.6 carats was presented in 1947 by Williamson to Princess Elizabeth at her wedding with Prince Philip.  Assembled by Cartier as the centre of a jonquil shaped brooch, it was frequently pinned on Her Majesty's coat.

On October 7, 2022, Sotheby's sold for HK $ 450M the Williamson Pink Star, lot 1115, which is $ 5M per carat. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

Strongly saturated, it is referred by the auction house as one of the purest and pinkest diamonds. Weighing 11.15 carats, it is the second biggest internally flawless fancy vivid pink ever listed at auction. It was cushion cut by Diacore from a 32 carat rough diamond found at the Williamson mine.

It is assembled on a 18 karat white and pink gold ring in a surrounding of small pink and white diamonds.

3
​VS1, ​The Pink Legacy
2018 SOLD for CHF 50M by Christie's

On November 13, 2018, Christie's sold the Pink Legacy for CHF 50M from a lower estimate of CHF 30M, lot 311.

This pink diamond Type IIa weighs 18.96 carats in a Fancy Vivid saturation without trace of secondary color and in VS1 clarity. Shaped in rectangle with cut corners, it is mounted on a ring. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

Its stone had been mined in South Africa and the jewel belonged to the Oppenheimer family. Although it cannot compete with the Pink Star, 59.60 carats Fancy Vivid Pink Internally Flawless, it is one of the best diamonds in its class.

Fancy Vivid is the high end of saturation, better than Fancy Intense, and big diamonds are rare in this shade. Above all, each diamond is different for a jeweler. The shape is chosen according to the homogeneity of the color. The rectangle offers the best brilliance. It is often used for white diamonds but big pink diamonds capable to maintain their full brightness in that shape are very rare.

In Fancy Vivid Pink saturation, a rectangular diamond weighing 5.18 carats whose clarity was only VS2 was sold for CHF 10M by Christie's on May 13, 2015, approaching CHF 2M per carat.

A cushion shaped potentially flawless fancy vivid pink weighing 5.00 carats, named The Vivid Pink, was sold for HK $ 84M by Christie's on December 1, 2009, corresponding to US $ 2.1M per carat, lot 2455.

4
​VVS2, The Unique Pink
​2016 SOLD for CHF 31M by Sotheby's

​For physicochemical reasons, pink diamonds are different from other colored diamonds. They have in common with colorless diamonds the lack of chemical impurities. Their color is due to the distortion of the crystal.

For this reason, pink diamonds offer a continuous range of hues from the paler (faint) to the most saturated (fancy vivid). The fancy intense pink often discussed in this column is less prestigious than the fancy vivid. The atomic intrusions can also generate more complex pinks approaching to purple or orange.

On May 17, 2016, Sotheby's sold the Unique Pink for CHF 31M, lot 495.

This fancy vivid pink of astonishing transparency and splendid purity offers a very saturated color. The total absence of atomic intrusions in the carbon crystal was verified by spectroscopy. Without approaching the weight of the Pink Star, the Unique Pink remains nevertheless very large in its category, 15.38 carats. It is VVS2, the best clarity below internally flawless and VVS1.

Because of their creation by pressure during the formation of the rock, the pink gems have an axis. The jeweler takes it into account to choose the shape. The Pink Star, absolute wonder of mineralogy, has been cut as a perfect oval obtained after two years of work by Steinmetz Diamonds. The Unique Pink was pear shaped by Cora International.

I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's :

5
​VVS2
​​2015 SOLD for CHF 29M by Christie's

The best pink diamonds meet the qualification of Fancy Vivid Pink, characterized by the absolute purity of the color with no hues of purple, orange, brown or gray. This feature provides an excellent homogeneity of color throughout the bulk of the gem.

On November 10, 2015, Christie's sold for CHF 29M from a lower estimate of CHF 22M a cushion cut fancy vivid pink of VVS2 clarity weighing 16.08 carats, mounted on a ring in a surrounding of rows of small diamonds, lot 409.

6
​VVS2, The Fortune Pink
2022 SOLD for CHF 28.4M by Christie's

The Fortune Pink is a fancy vivid pink diamond of VVS2 clarity weighing 18.18 carats in brilliant cut modified to pear shape. It has no trace of secondary color. Its polish is excellent and the symmetry is good.

Assembled with white diamonds on a 18 k rose gold ring and accompanied by a necklace, it was sold for CHF 28.4M by Christie's on November 8, 2022, lot 71.

Fancy Intense Pink

1
​VVS2, later The Graff Pink
2010 SOLD for CHF 45.4M by Sotheby's

The Perfect Pink weighing 14.23 carats with a VVS2 clarity was sold for HK $ 180M by Christie's on November 29, 2010.

On November 16, 2010, Sotheby's sold for CHF 45.4M from a lower estimate of CHF 27M another fancy intense pink diamond, also of VVS2 clarity, also emerald cut, but bigger. Weighing 24.78 carats, it is mounted on a ring. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

The fancy intense pink color is highly striking in this specimen. Its emerald shape may be considered as the best cut with regard to brilliance. 

This diamond was already known : 60 years earlier, it was purchased to Harry Winston. It had never come back on the market. It will be later identified as the Graff Pink.

Its 2010 price per carat is US $ 1.83M per carat. 

2
​1960 VS2, the Princie
2013 SOLD for $ 39.3M by Christie's​

On April 16, 2013 Christie's sold as lot 295 for $ 39.3M a cushion-cut pink diamond weighing 34.65 carats, which is 1.135 million US $ per carat. It is identified as historic, which mostly means that some ancient information is available.
​
This diamond has not been seen publicly since 1960. It was then bought £ 46K at auction by Van Cleef & Arpels, who named it the Princie Diamond by friendship with the young prince of Baroda.

Its true color revealed by the 2013 sale, fancy intense pink, is a pleasant surprise, because this is one of the best and rarest colors.

The provenance of the Princie was not revealed in 1960. The seller was the Nizam of Hyderabad himself, which supports the hypothesis that this diamond had been extracted from Golconda. Unfortunately, its VS2 clarity is not perfect. The Graff Pink, VVS2, is better by two grades.

2020 Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink, The Eternal Pink
2023 SOLD for $ 35M by Sotheby's

The Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink is a Type IIa pink with shades of purple. A multi-faceted cut improves the displaying of both colors and of their mingling. A Fancy vivid purplish pink internally flawless weighing 10.64 carats was sold for HK $ 156M by Sotheby's on October 7, 2019, lot 1820.

The Eternal Pink is a cushion mixed-cut Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink weighing 10.57 carats in an Internally Flawless clarity. The GIA is describing it as a stunning specimen, attesting an intense color saturation. Similar colors were found in much smaller diamonds in the now closed Argyle mine in Australia.

It had been cut by Diacore in New York City from a 23.78 carat rough discovered in 2020 in Botswana.

Flanked by two diamonds on a ring, it was sold for $ 35M by Sotheby's on June 8, 2023, lot 62. It is a price per carat of US $ 3.3M.

Fancy Vivid Purple Pink
2021 SOLD for HK$ 226M by Christie's

Much rarer than the Fancy Vivid Pink or the Fancy Intense Pink, the Fancy Vivid Purple Pink shows a perfect balance between its two colors, unlike the Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink which has a pink dominant.

On May 23, 2021, Christie's sold for HK $ 226M a ring made of a purple pink diamond flanked with white diamonds, lot 2011.

The colored diamond is a fancy vivid purple pink, well saturated with a slight dominance of the pink which reminds the cherry blossom in the early spring, a symbol of beauty in Japan. It has indeed been named the Sakura diamond from its eponymous flower in Japanese.

This cushion cut diamond is weighing 15.81 carats. It is graded Internally Flawless and has an even color distribution. The GIA stated in 2020 that it is the largest diamond known by them in its color grade in the two highest grades of clarity.

All its physical characteristics, but not its shape, are very similar to the Spirit of the Rose, weighing 14.83 carats, sold unmounted on November 11, 2020 by Sotheby's, lot 204, whose polish and symmetry were better graded.