World record pink diamond sold for $57.7M in Hong Kong: 'Appetite for rare'
11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star sets new price per carat record for Sotheby’s
A pink diamond has been sold for a record-breaking price per carat in Hong Kong.
The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star was purchased for $57.7 million during a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction on Oct. 7, according to the Associated Press.
Sotheby’s described the cushion-shaped to be a "fancy vivid pink" and "internally flawless," in a press release the international auction house released.
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Nearly 50 bids were reportedly made on the rare gemstone, according to Sotheby’s.
The auction house hasn’t identified the buyer by name, but did say it was purchased by a private collector who’s based in the U.S.
A private collector reportedly purchased the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond $57.7 million from a Sotheby's Hong Kong live auction, on Oct. 7, 2022. Pictured here, the diamond is set as a center stone on a gold band ring. (Sotheby's via AP / AP Newsroom)
Sotheby’s also noted that the multimillion-dollar purchase established a world record in the price per carat category for any diamond or gemstone.
Broken down, each carat of the Williamson Pink Star cost Sotheby’s anonymous buyer a little more than $5.1 million.
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This per-carat price beat the record held by a 12.03-carat blue diamond – The Blue Moon of Josephine – which notched $4 million per carat in 2015.
"The flawless clarity of the [Williamson Pink Star] was matched by the flawless auctioneering and our team’s execution – the Williamson Pink Star now takes its place in the pantheon of world record-breaking gemstones of the rarest kind," Wenhao Yu, chairman of jewelry and watches at Sotheby’s Asia, said in a statement.
"Ultimately, what we have witnessed in the room reflects the appetite for rare and impeccable gemstones amongst global collectors," Yu continued.
The Williamson Pink Star reportedly came from a 32-carat rock that was sourced from the Williamson Diamond Mine in Tanzania.
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Sotheby’s said the mine is famously connected to a Williamson Pink Diamond that Queen Elizabeth II once owned.
Diacore – a multinational diamond company – is credited with cutting and polishing the record-breaking Williamson Pink Star.
While the Williamson Pink Star has reportedly made a world record in the price per carat category, it’s only the second most expensive pink diamond to be sold.
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The 59.6-carat CTF Pink Star from De Beers holds the current world auction record for any diamond, gemstone or jewel with is $71.1 million price tag, according to Sotheby’s. It was also sold in Hong Kong.