A 59.60-carat pink diamond sold for $83 million, a record for any gemstone at auction.
The oval-cut stone’s price exceeded the previous record by 82 percent at an auction last night in Geneva held by Sotheby’s, which called the gem one of the earth’s greatest natural treasures. Those prices include the buyer’s premium.
The sale is a sign of market buoyancy and a high-profile success for Sotheby’s, which is facing pressure from investors, diamond dealers said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average touched an intraday record before the sale of the stone.
“It elicits almost a visceral response,” David Bennett, the auctioneer, said of the gem. “This stone checks every single box in terms of rarity, quality, size and everything. The crown jewels of England, which is one of the greatest jewel cases, does not have a diamond this size or this color.”
The five-minute battle for the gem opened at 48 million Swiss francs ($52.5 million) with a bid from the room. The price rose quickly in increments of 1 million francs. While there were several bidders on the telephone, the winning bid came from the crowded auction room. The auction concluded to the tune of Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme.”
Steinmetz Diamonds, the firm owned by Israel’s richest man, Beny Steinmetz, cut and polished the stone, which was mined by De Beers in Africa, Bloomberg informs.
