$8 Million Dollar Pink Diamond on The Auction Block!
On the block during upcoming sales in Hong Kong is a rare pink diamond the auction house estimates could fetch up to $8 million.
"Vivid Pink," as it's called, is a five-carat stone flanked by two white diamonds and set in a ring by elite jeweler Graff. It hails from a private collection.
The glamorous rock toured Singapore, Bangkok, Geneva and Taipei before returning to Hong Kong, where it will be auctioned off Dec. 1 at the Convention and Exhibition Center alongside 250 other gemstones and pieces of jewelry from the likes of Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels. Altogether, the jewelry sale's lots are estimated to be worth more than $33 million.
The brilliant pink stone earned top marks from the Gemological Institute of America, which rates diamonds. The gem is unique because of its particular hue--a rich bubblegum rather than a more common lighter rose. It is also valuable because of its saturation, the depth the color extends into the stone.
"Stones like this--they're not just jewelry, they're artwork," says Alan Bronstein, a New York-based trader and dealer of rare colored diamonds. "The simplest possible mounting is the best way to make that diamond shine. You don't want to embellish it with motifs and designs."
Colored diamonds mined naturally are often pockmarked with flecks of other hues, like purple, orange or gray. But this one is blemish-free, boasting an even tone throughout. Only one in 100,000 diamonds is as special.