At a recent auction held at Christie’s Hong Kong, a 15.81-carat type IIa IF diamond sold for $29.3 million – a record high price for a purple-pink diamond at auction, IDEX Online reports.
The “Sakura Diamond”, named after the petals of the Sakura cherry blossom it resembles, was the largest purple-pink diamond ever offered at auction, and the highlight of the sale. Only 4% of pink diamonds are categorized as “fancy vivid”, and less than 10% pink diamonds weigh over 0.2 carats. Vickie Sek, chair of Christie’s jewelry department, said the sale was an “important chapter in jewelry auction history”.
The previous auction record for a purple-pink diamond belonged to “The Spirit of the Rose” – a 14.83-carat, internally flawless, oval-cut stone owned by Alrosa, and auctioned for $27 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva last November.
