"Pink Star" diamond sells for record $71.2 million in bidding war

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"Pink Star" diamond sells for record $71.2 million in bidding war

REUTERS

 

A model poses with a 59.60-carat mixed cut diamond known as "The Pink Star", the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever graded by the Geological Institute of America (GIA), ahead of being auctioned in Hong Kong next month by Sotheby's which said it could fetch upwards of $60 million (GBP £48.4 million) to make it the most expensive diamond of its kind ever sold, in London, Britain, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A 59.60-carat pink diamond sold for a record $71.2 million in Hong Kong on Tuesday to local jewellers Chow Tai Fook after a five-minute bidding war between three phone bidders.

 

The "Pink Star", the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America according to Sotheby's, set "a new record for any diamond or jewel at auction", the auction house tweeted.

 

The diamond failed to sell in November 2013. The gem fetched a record $83 million but the buyer could not pay.

 

However, Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby's Asia, said the Tuesday's three bidders had been vetted for this sale.

 

"All three bidders...have a long standing relationship with the company and we were very, very confident that all three bidders had the financial capability and of course the buyer definitely had the financial capability," she said.

 

"We're not worried at all."

 

(Reporting by Pak Yiu; Editing by Louise Ireland)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-05

[williamgeorgeallen]

crazy what humans value as precious.

[steven100]

Damn ......   that was me on the phone to Sotherby's when the line went dead     !!    

[worgeordie]

Lot of money for a piece of Carbon, some fool is going to be

buying this for his wife,girlfriend.

regards worgeordie

[tandor]

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Lot of money for a piece of Carbon, some fool is going to be

buying this for his wife,girlfriend.

regards worgeordie

..will probably never see the sun.

[johnnybangkok]

What a rip-off. Not only is the demand for diamonds a marketing invention, but diamonds aren’t actually that rare. Only by carefully restricting the supply has De Beers kept the price of a diamond high and conned everyone into believing that they have value. 

 

[FangFerang]

21 minutes ago, johnnybangkok said:

What a rip-off. Not only is the demand for diamonds a marketing invention, but diamonds aren’t actually that rare. Only by carefully restricting the supply has De Beers kept the price of a diamond high and conned everyone into believing that they have value. 

 

Well said and quite true. It is also why SA had nukes for a short time (and then gave them back). A military raid on the vaults there would collapse world markets--insanely making it so that artificially rare items are propping up synthetic values that exist only as dots on a screen.

[tukkytuktuk]

Maybe Elton John bought it for David Furnish his husband. How romantic that would be.

[CharlieH]

Must be nice to have that much money you can afford to squander that amount on a shiny trinket !!

[alocacoc]

I could afford it, if it was 71.2 million Laos Kip.

 

' The diamond failed to sell in November 2013. The gem fetched a record $83 million but the buyer could not pay. '

 

That must be a pita for the lower bidder.

Edited April 5, 2017 by alocacoc

[oldgent]

Dissgrasefull that people has that kind of money to waste on stupid things

when people are starving to death in this World

[Minnie the Minx]

I actually know the guy who sold it, or rather my husband does.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34795005

 

A 12.03-carat blue diamond has been auctioned in Geneva for a record $48.4m (£31.7m) to a Hong Kong tycoon.

Joseph Lau confirmed he bought the ring-mounted, cushion-shaped stone for his seven-year-old daughter, renaming it "Blue Moon of Josephine" after her.

Auction house Sotheby's said the sale had set "a new world auction record for any diamond of any colour".

It is not the first time Lau, a property billionaire, has bought precious stones for his daughter.

The businessman - who was convicted of bribery and money laundering in 2014 - is also confirmed as the buyer of a 16.08-carat pink diamond, which Christie's sold for $28.5m on Tuesday.

It has been renamed "Sweet Josephine", a spokeswoman for Mr Lau told BBC News.

In 2009, he bought another blue diamond for his daughter - the 7.03-carat "Star of Josephine" - paying what was then a record $9.5m.

He was sentenced to five years in jail after his corruption convictions in a Macau court, but has avoided prison by not visiting the territory. There is no extradition treaty between Macau and Hong Kong.

 

Not saying anything but a way to disburse of er funds so why not buy it. Pink is not my colour, blue sure I'd want it too. ( tongue in cheek)

Edited April 5, 2017 by Minnie the Minx