A buyer at Sotheby’s auction house bought a rare pink diamond for RM269 million ($58 million). The precious stone went for more than twice the expected price.
According to Sotheby’s, the expected price for the stone was only RM97 million ($21 million).
Sotheby’s is one of the world’s largest brokers of fine art, jewelry, and collectibles based in New York. They held an auction for the pink diamond at Sotheby’s auction house in Hong Kong.
The 11.15-carat stone, called the ‘Williamson Pink Star’, is the second largest fancy vivid pink diamond to ever make it into an auction.
“The discovery of a gem-quality pink diamond of any size is an extremely rare occurrence – something that, with the recent closure of the Argyle mine, seemed until recently – highly improbable,” said Wenhao Yu, Chairman of Jewellery and Watches at Sotheby’s Asia.
“Driven by a limited supply and rising demand, prices for top-quality large pink diamonds over 5 carats have increased exponentially over the past decade, serendipitously setting the scene for the appearance now of this one-of-a-kind stone.”
The diamond’s name came from two other pink diamonds. The first being the CTF Pink Star, which sold for RM332 million ($71.2 million) and the “Williamson” diamond.
Dr. John Thorburn Williamson gifted the Williamson to Queen Elizabeth II. Dr. John Thorburn Williamson is the owner of the mine where the stone was discovered.
Aside from its size, the stone’s hue also sets it out. Sotheby’s claims that pink diamonds are among the rarest colours. This particular stone shines because to its exceptional rarity and high quality.