It is worth 14 million euros: that is how much the pink diamond sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong was sold for. A record figure reached after a very hard-fought auction, thrilling as Quek Chin Yeow, vice president of Sotheby’s Asia and president of the International Jewellery department in Asia, called it. He had previously openly stated that he hoped to surpass the exceptional result obtained with Pink Dream.
Wish granted: the 8.41-carat gem with an intense color and spectacular clarity was sold for 2.5 million euros more than the maximum estimate of 11.5 million euros, becoming the pink diamond with the highest value per carat ever put up for auction, around 1.6 million euros. The same session also had another star, an intense blue sapphire from Kashmir of 17.16 carats, sold for over 4 million dollars, with a price per unit of measurement of 236 thousand dollars. Another record. In short, gold falls and stones continue to grow, driven by multiple economic factors, Asian wealth increases demand and the Western crisis places them as a safe haven. Ultimately, De Beers CEO Nicky Oppenheimer seems to be right when he states: “Diamonds are intrinsically worthless, except for the strong psychological need they satisfy.”
