Pink diamond sells for record $49.9M at Hong Kong auction

HONG KONG (AP) — A pink diamond was bought for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world file for the very best worth per carat for a diamond bought at public sale.

The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, bought for $392 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($49.9 million). It was initially estimated at $21 million.

The Williamson Pink Star attracts its title from two legendary pink diamonds. The primary is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond which was introduced to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a marriage reward in 1947, whereas the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond that bought for a file $71.2 million at public sale in 2017.

The Williamson Pink Star is the second-largest pink diamond to seem at public sale. Pink diamonds are among the many rarest and most precious of the coloured diamonds.

“That is an astounding end result, proving the resilience of prime diamonds in a shaky financial system,” mentioned Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds.

“Arduous belongings similar to world-class diamonds have a historical past of performing properly even in occasions of instability,” he mentioned. “A number of the world’s highest high quality diamonds have seen costs double during the last 10 years.”