(29 Mar 2017) LEADIN
A pink diamond the size of a quail's egg is expected to fetch more than $60 million when it goes up for sale.
Sotheby's has been showing off their 59.60-carat gem in Hong Kong before next week's auction.
STORYLINE:
This is the "pink star" - the world's largest known vivid pink diamond.
The auction house, Sotheby's, says the 59.60-carat gem is the largest flawless vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
"It's also been graded by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) to be one of the greatest treasures of the world, and of course it is the largest to-date of any vivid pink diamond. So that by itself is a very, very rare thing. It's also been exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington alongside a few of the other wonderful diamonds, and again at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. So it comes with a great pedigree, of having been published and exhibited, and widely viewed."says Quek Chin-yeow, the Asia Chairman of International Jewellery at Sotheby's.
Sotherby's is expecting the diamond to be sold for more than US $60 million when it goes on sale on April 4 (2017). Such a price would represent a record for any kind of jewellery sold at auction.
There has already been several record setting diamond auctions in Hong Kong and Quek says he hopes the South African "pink star" will stay in the hands of Asian collectors.
"Hong Kong is obviously one of the three big centres of the world alongside Geneva and New York. At the same time, with Chinese and Asian art and international art now, Hong Kong is a wonderful platform for something just extraordinary. Like this diamond, like the Xuande Bowl that's coming up. In Hong Kong now we have great buyers here, first of the Milennium Jewel 4 was offered last year and it went to Asian buyer for over 13 million dollars, the Star of Josephine, at that time - the world record price for a blue diamond came to Hong Kong, and of course the largest white diamond to be auctioned, on 118.28 carats was sold in Hong Kong a few years back and still it is a world record for a white diamond at auction."
The company sold the current record holder - the "Blue Moon of Josephine" diamond - for US $48.5 million in Geneva in 2015. Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau bought it for his seven year old daughter.
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