Facts About Most Expensive Jewel Sold At Auction In The World

What Is The Most Expensive Jewel In The World?

Did you know the most expensive and valuable diamond ever to be found is the beautiful CTF Pink Star diamond? Accompanied by GIA report numbered 2175607011, dated 28 April 2016, stating that the diamond is natural, Fancy Vivid Pink Colour, Internally Flawless; together with a diamond type classification report stating that the diamond is determined to be a Type IIa diamond; also accompanied by a letter from GIA stating that this is the largest Flawless or Internally Flawless, Fancy Vivid Pink, Natural Colour, diamond they have ever graded; the GIA report is additionally accompanied by a separate monograph.

Pink Star - One of the World’s Great Natural Treasures

Meticulously cut by Steinmetz Diamonds over a period of nearly two years - a process in which the 132.50 carats rough was cast in epoxy more than 50 times in order to create models upon which the design team could experiment with different cuts -it was transformed into this spectacular 59.60 carat, fancy vivid pink, internally flawless oval cut gem – the largest internally flawless or flawless, a fancy vivid pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.

The diamond was first unveiled to the public in May 2003 as the ‘Steinmetz Pink’, and was modelled by Helena Christensen at a dedicated event thrown to coincide with the Monaco Grand Prix. Writing in the Financial Times on 31 May 2003, Mike Duff described the diamond as “the rarest, finest, most precious stone the world has ever seen”. The stone was first sold in 2007 and was subsequently renamed “The Pink Star”. In the same article, Tom Moses, Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer of the GIA, is quoted as saying: “it’s our experience that large polished pink diamonds – over ten carats – very rarely occur with an intense colour… The GIA Laboratory has been issuing grading reports for 50 years and this is the largest pink diamond with this depth of colour [vivid pink] that we have ever characterised”.

Of all fancy coloured pink diamonds, those graded ‘Fancy Vivid’ are the most precious and desirable. The current world auction record for a pink diamond is the Graff Pink, a superb 24.78-carat diamond that sold at Sotheby's Geneva in November 2010 for US$46.16 million. Weighing in at 59.60 carats and graded as Fancy Vivid, the Pink Star is twice the size.

In the summer of 2003, this amazing gem was exhibited at 'The Splendor of Diamonds' exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Displayed in the Winston Gallery alongside the 45.52 carats blue Hope Diamond, the exhibition featured seven of the world’s rarest and most extraordinary diamonds. Also on view for the first time in the United States was the 203.04 carat De Beers Millennium Star, one of the largest diamonds in the world; the Heart of Eternity blue diamond; the Moussaieff Red, the largest known red diamond in the world; the Harry Winston Pumpkin Diamond; the Allnatt, one of the world’s largest yellow diamonds at 101.29 carats; and the Ocean Dream, the world’s largest naturally occurring blue-green diamond.

Commenting at the opening of the exhibition, Dr Jeffrey Post, curator of the Gems and Minerals Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History said, “Each of the diamonds is the finest of its kind and together with the museum’s gem collection makes for an exhibit of truly historic proportions”. In the three months the exhibition ran, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History attracted more than 1.6 million visitors.

From July through November 2005, The Pink Star again took centre stage, this time at the 'Diamonds' exhibition held at the Natural History Museum, in London. “This exhibition will bring together many of the most impressive single stones in the world, fascinating science, and insights into the diamond industry to tell the story of diamonds from deep in the Earth to the red carpet,” said Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum. For five months, the dazzling exhibition attracted approximately 70,000 visitors a day.

History of the Pink Star Diamond

Photo: tuanmoissanite

The Pink Star, previously known as the Steinmetz Pink, is a diamond weighing 59.60 carats (11.92 g), classified by the Gemological Institute of America as Fancy Vivid Pink in color. De Beers mined the Pink Star in South Africa in 1999 and weighed 132,5 carat in the rough. The Pink Star is the largest diamond known to have been rated Vivid Pink. The Beny Steinmetz Group called Steinmetz Diamonds took a cautious 20 months to cut the Pink as a result of this exceptional rarity. This was unveiled in a public ceremony in Monaco on 29 May 2003.

The Pink Star was displayed (as the Steinmetz Pink) as part of the Smithsonian’s “The Splendor of Diamonds” exhibit, alongside the De Beers Millennium Star, the world’s second-largest (the Cullinan I The Star of Africa is the largest) top color (D) internally and externally flawless pear-shaped diamond at 203.04 carats (40.608 g), the Heart of Eternity Diamond, a 27.64 carat (5.582 g) heart-cut blue diamond and the Moussaieff Red Diamond, the world’s largest known Fancy Red diamond at 5.11 carat (1.022 g).

Origin of CTF Pink Star's Name

The Steinmetz Pink diamond gets its name from the Steinmetz Group of Companies, the owners of the diamond, a leading company involved in all aspects of the diamond industry, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and offices around the world. The Steinmetz Pink rough diamond was cut and polished by the master cutters of Steinmetz Group over a period of two years and transformed into a stunning oval-shaped diamond with a step-cut crown and a brilliant-cut pavilion. The finished diamond christened the "Steinmetz Pink" was unveiled in Monaco on May 29, 2003, at a public ceremony, and was briefly worn around the neck of super-model Helena Christensen.

Names:

1. 1999–2007: The Steinmetz Pink
2. 2007–2017: The Pink Star
3. 2017–present: CTF Pink Star

How are Pink Diamonds formed?

While we know for most colors how they are formed, it is still a bit hazy for pink-colored diamonds. One of the theories as to how they are formed is that the diamond underwent extreme pressure during its formation. Another theory is that a seismic shock altered the color of the diamonds as they surfaced the earth. Most scientists believe that the color of a pink diamond is caused by color centers. “Color centers can selectively absorb light in the visible region of the spectrum. They are the result of lattice defects or imperfections in the arrangement of the atoms in a crystal”. In other words: while the stones are still embedded in the earth’s crust, the combination of intense heat and pressure distorts the crystal lattice. That is how the lattice can absorb a particular band of green light rays.

Color of the Pink Star Diamond

Photo: scmp

There’s no doubt that a natural pink color for a diamond is something really special. The Pink Star Diamond with its vivid color is already special on its own. But what makes it even more remarkable, is that the GIA researchers were not able to determine the origin of this diamond’s pink color. This makes the diamond even more mysterious than it already is.

Pink diamonds stand for femininity. It has the meaning and properties of enhancing creativity and it is believed it will increase the owner’s aesthetic sense. As you know, pink diamonds are very rare. There is only one Pink Star Diamond. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only pink diamond in the world. At Royal Coster Diamonds, we have the largest collection of diamonds in Europe. In this collection, we also have a few (natural) pink diamonds, like this pink pear diamond ring.

What Makes Pink Star Diamonds so Valuable?

Pink diamonds were first discovered in India during the early 17th century, in the Kollur mine within the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, which was part of the legendary Golconda kingdom. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French merchant, and adventurer, first made a reference to pink diamonds around this time. In his travel book, Tavernier mentioned a very large pink rough diamond weighing over 200 carats, shown to him by Moghuls in the Kingdom of Golconda in 1642. This diamond, named ‘The Grand Table’ was valued at 600,000 rupees at the time and is still considered to have been the largest pink diamond recorded to date.

Since their discovery in the early 17th century, pink diamonds have also been mined in Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, Canada, Australia, and, of course, Russia. It is thought that around 80% of the world’s pink diamonds now originate from the Argyle mine in Kimberley, Western Australia. Out of the mine’s 20 million carats annual output, only 0.1% are classified as pink diamonds, attesting to their rarity.

Unlike white diamonds, colored and pink diamonds obtain their hues from chemical disturbances in the earth during their formation process. The varied colors originate from trace elements that interfere with the carbon crystal formation within the diamond. For example, the presence of nitrogen creates yellow diamonds, and boron forms blue diamonds. Curiously, there are no trace elements found in pink diamonds. Instead, the cause of the pink hue is thought to be caused by a distortion in the diamond’s crystal lattice, created by intense heat and great pressure after the stone’s formation in the earth. This distortion displaces many carbon atoms from their normal positions and alters the qualities of light reflected by the diamond – resulting in us observing the stone as pink.

As with other colored diamonds, pink diamonds are graded on their color by the Gemological Institute of America using the classing: Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid. Similarly, to other colored diamonds, Fancy Vivid is are the most sought-after color. Given their rarity, it is unsurprising that the value of pink diamonds has increased considerably over the centuries. The current record for a pink diamond sold at auction is held by the ‘CTF Pink Star’, a 59.60-carat oval mixed-cut Fancy Vivid Pink, Internally Flawless diamond which was auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017 for $71.2 million USD.

Who owns the Pink Star diamond?

In 2017, a 59.6-carat pink diamond sold for a record $71.2 million. The diamond, which was purchased by Hong Kong jewelers Chow Tai Fook and renamed “CTF Pink Star,” remains the most expensive polished diamond of any color to sell at auction.

Who owns CTF pink star?

On 3 April 2017, the Pink Star was sold at an auction in Hong Kong for US$71.2 million to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

Who bought the pink Legacy diamond?

Harry Winston

Harry Winston acquired “The Pink Legacy” diamond at a Christie’s auction for $50.4 million in November 2018. It set the 18.96-carat fancy vivid pink diamond in a ring that was on display at the Harry Winston store in New York. New York—Harry Winston celebrated what would have been its founder’s 125th birthday in style.

Who owns the rarest diamond?

The Blue Moon Diamond in his new name The Blue Moon of Josephine is the proud owner of the title Most Expensive Diamond in The World! It is an Internally Flawless 12.03-carat Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond that his history goes back to 2014 when he was unearthed by Petra Diamonds.

What makes a Red or Pink Diamond? This is actually an impossible question to answer, as there is no impurity that causes its color, only the evidence that these diamonds have a mutation within their crystal lattice that alters the stone’s molecular structure. With enough of these “defect centers,” the diamond may take on different properties. For example, the diamond could absorb a certain wavelength of green light, resulting in a pink appearance. Other colors, such as green, purple and orange, occur from natural radiation and other common elements within the Earth.

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