Pink diamonds are one of the most popular fancy colored diamonds to exist. Known for their beauty, coveted for their rarity- the pink diamond is a true masterpiece of nature. Despite not being the rarest color diamond, pink diamonds are the most sought fancy colored diamond by investors and have the best market performance in comparison to all other fancy-colored diamonds. The diamonds’ high demand comes due to its limited supply, stunning beauty and the mystery regarding their gemological formation. Pink diamonds have never failed to break records at every passing auction, except just recently.
Pink Diamonds Rarity
For the past 30 years, 90% of the world's pink diamonds were sourced from the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia. Further, statistics show only 1% of the diamonds mined at the argyle mine were pink diamonds. The argyle mine was closed in 2020, which has made pink diamonds specially the argyle pink, the world's most rare and sought-after asset in the jewelry industry. This is why pink diamonds are considered a sturdy investment and have been the preferred choice of investors and collectors every auction.
Auctions
Auction houses are placed all around the world and provide a platform for rare jewelry to be viewed, showcased or sold. We get to see some of the most historical items to those that are coveted by many. Once an item is out, many bid and eventually the highest bidder on an item gets to walk away with it.
Unlike how colorless stones are priced by Rapaport list, some fancy coloured diamond prices aren't listed and hence are determined by the auction results. The auctioned prices end up playing a significant impact on the market prices and have set new trends in the industry.
Over the last 16 years over 16 auctions price records have been broken. Therefore in light of the recently sold Fortune pink diamond, we have talked about a few past auctions where pink diamonds have broken records.
1.The Graff Pink
On November 16, 2010, A 24.78 carat stone sold for $46.2 million at Sotheby’s Geneva. The Fancy Intense Pink Diamond with a rectangular cut is set on a ring with 2 white diamond side stones.
2. The Princie Diamond
Although not popular as the other pink diamonds is a cushion-cut Fancy Intense Pink Golconda stone originating from the Golconda mine. This 34.65 carat diamond was sold on April 16, 2013, at the Christie’s New York auction. It was a rare stone with great clarity and sold for $39.3 million by a diamond collector.
3. The Vivid Pink
All the 4C’s are important to determine the value of a diamond. However, in this diamond, the color characteristic is what stood out the most. The diamond was only 5 carats, however, it was a beautiful vivid pink. It was a cushion-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ring flanked by shield-shaped diamonds on either side.
4. CTF Pink Star
The fancy vivid pink, internally flawless diamond weighing 59.60 carats is the most expensive diamond, gemstone or jewel to ever be sold at auction. The oval-shaped fancy vivid pink stone was sold at auction in Hong Kong by Sotheby in 2017 for $71.2 million. The diamond is one of a kind, and it is very unlikely to see something of its caliber in the diamond market soon.
Hailes, Stacey. Pink Star Becomes Most Expensive Gemstone Sold at Auction, Apr. 2017. <https://www.professionaljeweller.com/pink-star-becomes-expensive-gemstone-sold-auction/>
5. The Williamson Pink star
The Williamson Pink Star, sold in October 2022 set the record for the highest price per carat for any diamond sold at an auction.
The 11.15-carat diamond certified as ‘internally flawless’ and ‘fancy vivid’ is amongst the highest grade of colored diamonds. It was sold at $57.3 million, double the estimated price- a great success for Sotheby.
6. Fortune pink
The most recent auctioned fancy pink diamond was the Fortune Pink in November 2022, weeks after the record breaking Williamson Pink Star. All eyes were set on the 18.18-carat pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond, which was estimated to be sold between $25-$35 million by Christies.
The stone could make a decent $28.5 million, an amount at the lower end of the estimated range. Falling short of a history-making sale, experts believe the stone was bought on a bargain. Even the much-desired diamond shape (the pear), could not bring some fortune for the diamond at auction.
Why did the Fortune Pink fail?
While alarming recession and the falling global economy is a solid reason, there is more to it. We discussed this with a panel of experts, and they had very intriguing opinions. Some have pointed out the poor show of marketing by Christies. “Christies worked very badly with marketing, media coverage and communication. They were in a hurry to beat it at auction” said one of our associates. The location was another key factor, Geneva has not seen many large auctions in the past years. Even the diamond legend, description, and price estimation were not accurate. Moreover, another fascinating fancy vivid pink diamond- The Williamson Pink Star had made big money just a month ago. The Williamson pink star has the same rare color as the Fortune Pink. The diamonds differ mainly in their clarity- the former being an Internally Flawless, and the latter, a VVS2. Comparing the two diamonds would be a bit unfair but the difference in carat size could still not compensate for the varying prices. Auctioning such rare and exclusive diamonds with similar characteristics for consecutive months could be greatly harmful for the diamond market.
Comparing the two most recent fancy vivid pink diamonds sold at auction.
Now with another 13.15-carat emerald-cut fancy vivid pink being auctioned in New York Magnificent Jewels sale on December 6, Christie’s managerial planning is being questioned. Rahul Kadakia- International head of Jewelry, Christies, has quoted- “Diamonds have made great prices at auction from the beginning of the year, and there is confidence amongst collectors now more than ever”. Experts however have a differing opinion – highlighting the non-strategic planning of the auction house. Delivering such rare diamonds of such high caliber back-to-back will diminish the diamonds rarity. This could even lead to a downfall in the pink diamond market.
While we hope this is not the case and that the diamond going on sale in December creates great records, one cannot help but question – why did the Fortune Pink fail to make a fortune at auction.
Conclusion
We have covered a few pink diamond auctions in the market to observe how the market prices have changed over the years and the market trend. There have been auctions all around the world with diamonds of different characteristics.
The final prices of the diamonds sometimes turn out to be far from the estimated prices, where it all boils down to the supply and demand and the quality of the items in the auction. Records are always meant to be broken so hopefully, we see another broken record in the near future!
Comments