$28 Million 16-Carat Pink Diamond Sets Auction Record
The more rare a piece of jewelry is, the more expensive it can be priced. Two weeks ago, a 16 carat vivid pink diamond was sold at a jewelry auction in Geneva. A private Asian buyer bought the largest cushion-shaped vivid pink diamond at its high estimate of more than $28 million. This event set a new record for this category at the jewelry auction.
Over the past 250 years, it's said that there were only three pink stones that had come up for sale at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction. The outrageous private Asian buyer named the beautiful pink diamond “Sweet Josephine”.
The pink diamond is set as a ring. The main stone is surrounded by a double row known as a pavé-set (done for mounting round shaped diamonds and gemstones in jewelry). The rows are white diamonds and the third row has small pink diamonds underneath.
Perfectly Pink Diamond
The special characteristic of this specific vivid pink diamond is that it has no trace of secondary color which is rare. Most pink diamonds have secondary color or color modifier such as brown, grey, purple, and orange. Christie’s also mentioned that it is classified as a Type IIA diamond meaning it only contains a little nitrogen - only fewer than 2 percent of ALL diamonds accounts for it.
$28 Million Price Tag Not a Shocker?
The price of the auctioned diamond was not a surprise. Pink diamonds are rare. It is so rare that it is among the rarest of colors of diamonds. What causes the pretty pink color of pink diamonds is actually not clear yet and still somewhat a mystery. Pure pink diamonds are rarer than those with secondary colors. Clearly the rarer a diamond is, the more expensive it will be.
4 C's of The Pink Diamond
We can also refer to the 4C’s (Carat, Color, Clarity, and Cut) system for grading and evaluating a diamond. For colored diamonds, emphasis is given to the color. The pure vivid pink color of the auctioned diamond contributed to it’s price. Having no secondary color is also a factor.
With the carat, the heavier it is, the more expensive. Clarity plays a big role in the value and pricing of a diamond. The auctioned pink vivid diamond clearly has a high clarity. As for the cut (which refers to the “quality” of cut, the brilliance that the diamond possesses, and the way it reflects to light), when it comes to colored diamonds (although it is significant), it is not the main factor. When it comes to colored diamonds - it is not about the “best brilliance or cut”, but rather the “best color”.
Now we know why the private Asian buyer bought the beautiful “Sweet Josephine” a $28.5 million pink diamond. Can't afford a $28.5 million ring? Neither can we. Let's get real and shop for some of our favorite fashion jewelry picks from $28.50 rather than $28.5 million.
