Diamonds are a very rare gemstone. However, when it acquires a frank and shimmering colour, a diamond increases its level of rarity a little more and therefore necessarily its price. Some diamonds, known as “fancy colored diamonds“, have made history with their exorbitant prices. Close-up on five of them.
The world of colored diamonds attracts the most discerning collectors from all over the world. They are willing to pay exorbitant sums to acquire their precious stones. Colored diamonds are rare because they have impurities. It is estimated that for every 10,000 colorless diamonds, only one colored diamond is mined. Among the rarest gems are the red diamond, considered the Holy Grail because of its hypnotic colour, the violet diamond, the blue diamond and the pink diamond. Throughout history, certain stones have left their mark on people’s minds because of their rarity. Here are five of them:
The Spectre of the Rose
This exceptional pink stone has just entered the history of the world’s most precious diamonds on November 11th when it was sold for 21 million Swiss francs, or 19.4 million euros by Sotheby’s. This is the largest rough pink diamond ever discovered in Russia. With its 14.83 carats and its oval shape of the size of a marble, it is the largest of its category to have ever been auctioned. Its rarity can be explained by the fact that it was extracted from a 27.85 carat rough diamond discovered in 2017 in north-eastern Siberia. It took a year’s work to shape this gemstone.
The Pink Star
This enormous 2.69 x 2.06 cm, 59.60 carat stone mounted on a ring is still considered the most expensive diamond in the world. It was extracted from a 132.5 carat rough diamond discovered by De Beers in Africa in 1999. It has even been awarded the title of “Vivid Pink”, the most intense colour in gemmology and part of the Gemological Institute of America’s highest ranking. The diamond was purchased in 2014 by diamond cutter Isaac Wolf, but he was unable to pay the price in the end. It is therefore currently estimated at 60.7 million euros.
Okavango Blue
The 20.46 carat stone was discovered in Botswana in 2019 and was named after the Okavango River Delta, the third largest river in Southern Africa. A discovery as rare as “spotting a star in the Milky Way“, as Marcus Ter Haar, managing director of the Okavango Diamond Company, put it. The stone was extracted from the Orapa mine, the world’s largest open-pit diamond mine. Although it is not the most expensive blue diamond in the world ( held by the Oppenheimer Blue which sold for 51.03 million euros ), it is nevertheless in the very rare category of fancy blue.
The Orange
This almond-sized diamond called “The Orange” was auctioned at a record price of $35.54 million in 2013. Its colour was described as “vivid”, a particularly intense brilliance. In general, the most sought-after diamonds are pink and blue diamonds, but this extremely rare gem caught the world by surprise with its colour and compact size.
Graff Vivid Yellow
This daffodil yellow diamond is considered to be one of the largest yellow diamonds in the world with its 100.09 carats. It was auctioned in May 2014 at Sotheby’s for $16.3 million. It has actually been offered twice at auction. The first time, the auctioneer, David Bennett, declared it “unsold“, having sold for only 12.6 million Swiss francs ($14.1 million).
