Just because a diamond is forever does not mean a diamond owner is forever.
After about 60 years of sitting in a private collection since Harry Winston’s hands were lightened of its heavy (24.78 carat) load, one of the world’s greatest diamonds will be up for grabs at Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels in Geneva.
The ring is the crowning item of roughly 500 exquisite lots to be auctioned on Tuesday, November 16, at the Hotel Beau-Rivage. The sale follows a three-day exhibition at the same venue.
The Fancy Intense Pink Emerald-Cut Diamond, mounted on a silver ring and flanked by two white diamonds, is expected to fetch anywhere between $27-38 million, according to Sotheby’s Press Release. But calling the ring “fancy” refers to more than just the price tag—its pink coloring was officially graded “fancy intense pink” by the Gemological Institute of America.
Since their discovery some hundreds of years ago in the mines of India, jewelers have coveted pink diamonds for their rarity as well as their beauty. In 2002, the much-publicized engagement of Ben Affleck to Jennifer Lopez via pink heart-shaped engagement ring brought more global attention to the rare gems. Unlike the Fancy Pink, the Affleck-Lopez ring weighed in at 6.5 carats, costing a reported $1.2 million. It, too, proved slippery in the long run: the engagement was broken in off in 2004 and Lopez returned the ring to Affleck, who then asked Harry Winston to sell it for him.
Diamonds are believed to attain colors by developing unusual distortions while created inside the earth. The distortion then affects the absorption of light to reflect a particular color.
Currently, the world’s most expensive diamond is the Fancy Deep Blue Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond. Weighing 35.56 carats, it sold for $26.2 million in December of 2008 at Christie’s. Sotheby’s Fancy Intense Pink Diamond is expected to surpass that price at minimum.
In addition to dubbing the diamond “fancy intense pink,” the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) gives it a VVS2 clarity grade, just three grades away from FL, or flawless. The GIA goes further to say that after the stone is polished, it could very well be given a new grade of FL.
This begs the question…after spending $38 million for one of the world’s greatest diamonds, how much does one spend on polishing?
Affluent Page Magazine is the author of this article on Auction. Find more information about 25 Carat Diamond here. |
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