A pink diamond was sold for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction.
The 11.15-carat "Williamson Pink Star" diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million.
The "Williamson Pink Star" draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond, which was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat "Pink Star" diamond that sold for a record $71.2 million at auction in 2017.
The "Williamson Pink Star" is the second-largest pink diamond to appear at auction. Pink diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable colored diamonds.
"This is an astounding result, proving the resilience of top diamonds in a shaky economy,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds.
"Hard assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability," he said. "Some of the world’s highest quality diamonds have seen prices double over the last 10 years.”
In a 2021 auction, an extremely rare 15.81-carat flawless purple and pink-colored diamond named "Sakura" was put up for sale by the auction house Christie's and cost its new owner $29.3 million. A collector who attended the auction over the phone was the lucky buyer who gave the highest bid for the extremely rare 15.81-carat jewel, breaking the record for its type at auction.
