Pink diamond sells for record $57.7 million at Hong Kong auction

HONG KONG (AP) — A pink diamond sold for $57.7 million in Hong Kong on October 7, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction.

The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, fetched nearly $5.2 million per carat, surpassing the previous record of $4 million for a blue diamond sold in 2015.

The buyer was a private collector in the United States, Sotheby’s said.

The Williamson Pink Star takes its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson Pink Diamond presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star which sold for a record $71. $.2 million at auction in 2017.

The Williamson Pink Star, the second largest pink diamond to be auctioned, and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond both came from the Williamson mine in Tanzania. The mine is famous for its pink diamonds, which are among the rarest and most valuable colored diamonds.

« This is an amazing result, proving the resilience of the best diamonds in a shaky economy, » said Tobias Kormind, Managing Director of 77 Diamonds.

« Durable assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability, » he said. « Some of the highest quality diamonds in the world have seen their prices double in the last 10 years. »

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This story has been updated to clarify that the final price for the Williamson Pink Star diamond was $57.7 million, not the previously announced « sale price » of $49.9 million.

Zen Soo, The Associated Press