A 16.08-carat cushion-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond, the largest to be offered at auction, sold for more than $28.5 million, setting a new auction record for any vivid pink diamond at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale Tuesday.
The gem was purchased by a private Asian buyer, who named it “Sweet Josephine,” the auction house said. It sold just above its high estimate of $28 million.
The diamond is set as a ring, with a double row of pavé-set white diamonds that surround the main stone, and a third row of small pink diamonds underneath. The band is comprised of small circular-cut white diamonds set in platinum.
In almost 250 years of auction history, only three pure vivid pink diamonds of over ten carats have appeared for sale, the auction house said prior to the sale.
While most pink diamonds exhibit a color modifier like purple, orange, brown or grey, this gem shows no trace of a secondary color, Christie’s said. In addition, it’s classified as a Type IIa diamond, which means it contains little if any nitrogen and accounts for fewer than 2 percent of all diamonds.
The pink diamond was the top lot of a sale that achieved nearly $109.5 million, with 80 percent sold by lot and 86 percent by value. More to come.
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