Image: Sotheby’s
A pink diamond, a rare stone, sold at auction Friday in Hong Kong for nearly $58 million, setting a new record for the price per carat of a diamond or gemstone, according to auction house Sotheby’s.
“Williamson’s 11.15-carat pink star” was awarded for 453.2 million Hong Kong dollars, or $57.7 million, making it the second-highest price for a gem sold at auction, Sotheby’s added.
The winning bid, from an undisclosed buyer in the Florida town of Boca Raton, U.S., was more than double the estimated sale price of $21 million.
71.2 million dollars
The coveted item was the second largest pink diamond to be sold at auction. Pink diamonds are the rarest and most sought-after gemstones on the world market.
The record for a pink diamond was set in 2017, when a stone named “CTF Pink Star” was auctioned in Hong Kong for $71.2 million.
Friday’s sale “is a testament not only to the resilience of demand for premium diamonds in Asia, but also to an increased awareness of the great rarity of pink diamonds,” said Wenhao Yu, head of the dedicated jewelry and watches department at Sotheby’s Asia.
“Williamson’s Pink Star” is named after two other pink diamonds, which are the record holder “CTF Pink Star” and the “Williamson Stone,” a 23.6-carat diamond given as a wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.
