The most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction still is the “Chow Tai Fook Pink Star”, a 59.60 ct Fancy Vivid pink, Internally Flawless clarity, that sold in Sotheby’s Hong Kong for just over $72.1 million in 2017.
In 2013 this very stone, one of the largest pink diamonds on record and the largest Fancy Vivid pink ever graded by the GIA, made the headlines when the final bid of $83.18 million made by Issac Wolf at Sotheby’s Geneva defaulted. Sotheby’s in partnership with Diacore Group and MELLEN Inc., kept the gem until its Hong Kong sale in 2017 when Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group bought it.
The Pink Star was unveiled in 2003 as the “Steinmetz Pink” during the F1 Monaco Grand Prix cut from a remarkably large type IIa 132.5 ct rough from a De Beers Group mine in South Africa. Its rare colour is due to plastic deformation at the crystal lattice level that occurred during geological formation.
In the photos: recent photos of the now called Chow Tai Fook Pink Star © Sotheby’s
Guest articles by Rui Galopim de Carvalho:
https://gem-spectrum.com/category/rui-galopim-de-carvalho
About the author:
Rui Galopim de Carvalho is a renowned independent Gem Education Consultant, author, luxury industry training expert and popular international lecturer on gemmology and on the history of gem materials. During his 30 year experience as a gemmologist, Rui has studied important collections in both public and private museums, notably the Portuguese Crown Jewels.
Founder of the popular Home Gemmology webinar series launched during the COVID-19 lockdown, Rui has a long history as a gemmology communicator, notably on social media where he is a popular figure.
Rui Galopim de Carvalho can be reached through his website:
