Yesterday at Christie’s auction house in Geneva, a new diamond-bidding record was set. A Pink Legacy diamond weighing in at an impressive 18.96 carats went up for auction, and after eight minutes on the stand, it finally sold for a monumental $50 million USD (or, in local currency, 50.3 million Swiss francs). This auction has set a new record for price paid per carat for a pink diamond at auction. Oddly specific record, but a record nonetheless.
The Pink Legacy was auctioned as part of Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction, and garnered strong attention for its high-quality size and color. Pink Legacies are categorized as “fancy vivid” diamonds, a category that is only attributed to 1 out of 100,000 diamonds. Even among fancy vivids, this particular Pink Legacy is nearly nine carats over the usual size for the category, making it even rarer. In a statement to CNN, CEO of jewlers Le Vian Eddie LeVian said “this record-busting price fetched suggests the diamond trade is in good health and signals the market’s sensitivity to Australia’s Argyle mine’s imminent closure in 2020. With Argyle producing 90% of the world’s pink diamonds, what do you think the value of this diamond will be in five years from now?”
According to the international head of jewelry at Christie’s, Rahul Kadakia, the diamond was purchased by the American luxury brand Harry Winston. As such, the diamond will be renamed the “Winston Pink Legacy.”
