Pink diamond pounded down for record $46 million at auction

  • November 16, 2010 19:43

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The 24.78-carat, VVS2, fancy intense pink diamond of the purest, most vibrant hue that dealer Laurence Graff paid $46,158,674 (CHF 45,442,500) for at Sotheby's.
Sotheby's

London jewelry dealer Laurence Graff phoned in the winning bid of 45.4 million francs ($45.6 million) for a rare pink diamond in Geneva on Tues. Its pre-sale estimate of 38 million francs was soundly surpassed to secure an auction record price for a gem.

Sotheby's total take for the Magnificent Jewels sale was 103 million Swiss francs ($105 million), a record for a single jewelry sale.

The billionaire diamond purveyor will now name the stone the "Graff Pink," according to Sotheby's.

“It is the most fabulous diamond I’ve seen in the history of my career and I’m delighted to have bought it,” Graff said in a statement.

Purchased from Harry Winston by the consignor some 60 years ago, the exceptional 24.78-carat emerald-cut stone was graded “Fancy Intense Pink” by the Gemological Institute of America.

Graff paid the previous auction record for a gem at Christie's in 2008. He spent 16.4 million pounds ($24.3 million) for the historic 35.56-carat blue “Wittelsbach Diamond” which he controversially whittled down in carat size during a recut and repolishing.


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