Credit: Vincent Yu/AP
Pink Star Diamond
The Pink Star is the largest internally flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America. It’s more than twice the size of the 24.78-carat Graff Pink, which set the previous record price for a pink diamond when it sold for $46.2 million in 2010.
Described as one of “the earth’s greatest natural treasures”, “Pink Star” is the largest internally flawless pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has ever graded.
The 59.6-carat “Pink Star” diamond is now officially the most valuable gem or jewel sold at auction, fetching a world record price of $71.2 million, moments ago in Hong Kong. It shattered the previous record of $57.5 million held by the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold a year ago at Christie’s Geneva auction.
The Pink Star is graded as Type IIa, which is rare for any pink diamond, much less one of this size and color. It originated from a 132.5-carat rough mined by De Beers in 1999 and was cut and polished over a period of two years. The Pink Star is more than twice the size of the Graff Pink, which at 24.78 carats was previously the largest pink diamond ever sold at auction, fetching $46.2 million, at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010.
What are Pink diamonds?
Pink diamonds are extremely rare. Only 0.0001% of the diamonds in existence are pink. It is a gemstone that would give beauty and harmony to the world. Just like white diamonds, pink diamonds can range from flawless to (heavily) included. The Pink Star is the only pink diamond in the world that is completely flawless.
History of the Pink Star Diamond
The Pink Star, previously known as the Steinmetz Pink, is a diamond weighing 59.60 carat (11.92 g), classified by the Gemological Institute of America as Fancy Vivid Pink in colour. 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 colour (D) internally and externally flawless pear-shaped diamond at 203.04 carat (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).
A name-changing pink diamond
Steinmetz polished the diamond into a “Mixed Oval Brilliant.” The combination of a brilliant and an oval is not that unusual. But instead of regular facets, a step cut crown and a brilliant cut pavilion were polished. You can recognize the step cut facets of the emerald cut diamonds and the Asscher cut diamonds. The combination of the cut and the facets makes it look like there’s a star shape inside the stone.
Names:
- 1999–2007: The Steinmetz Pink
- 2007–2017: The Pink Star
- 2017–present: CTF Pink Star
