The ‘Pink Star,’ a 59.60-carat oval cut fancy vivid pink diamond, was sold during Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva for a record $83 million on November 13. The gem, which is the largest internally flawless diamond that has ever been graded by the Gemological Institute of America, carried an estimate of $60 million. Sotheby’s said that the buyer was Isaac Wolf, a New York-based diamond cutter who is planning to rename the gem “The Pink Dream.”
When the stone first arrived at Sotheby’s, David Bennett, the Chairman of the auction house’s Jewelry Division in Europe and the Middle East, said, “I have had the privilege of examining some of the greatest gemstones in the world over the past 35 years, and I can say, without hesitation, that ‘The Pink Star’ is of immense importance.” The gem’s vibrant hue combined with its extraordinary size makes it the most exceptional pink diamond known to exist in State, Royal and private collections. The Pink Star belongs to a rare subgroup called “Type IIa,” which includes less than two percent of all gems.
The diamond was cut from a rough stone weighing 132.5 carats, which was mined in Africa in 1999 by De Beers. It was later cut, polished and transformed into its current form by Steinmetz Diamonds. The Pink Star has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution as well as the Natural History Museum in London.
