8.41-Carat Purple-Pink Diamond Fetches $17.8 Million, Sets New Record

By Erika Winters

8.41-Carat Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink Diamond • Sotheby's

An 8.41-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond fetched a record $17.8 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Image: Sotheby’s

An 8.41-carat internally-flawless, fancy vivid purple-pink diamond sold for a record $17.77 million ($2.1 million per carat) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on October 7. The pear-shaped pink diamond–set in a Sotheby’s Diamonds mounting–was expected to fetch between $12.8 and $15.4 million at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite autumn sale.

According to Sotheby’s, both the previous world auction record for a fancy vivid pink diamond and the record price-per-carat for a pink diamond were established in 2009 in Hong Kong with the sale of a 5.00-carat fancy vivid pink, which sold for $10,776,660 (or $2,155,332 per carat).

A 17.16-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring also established a new world auction record price-per-carat for any sapphire, Sotheby’s stated. The rare sapphire sold for $4.06 million ($236,404 per carat) breaking the previous record garnered by a 28.18-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring that sold at Sotheby’s New York for $5,093,000 ($180,731 per carat) in April 2014.

“The top lot of the night, a vivid purple-pink diamond ring mounted by Sotheby’s Diamonds, attracted keen competition before fetching a wonderful price of HK$137.88 million and setting a world auction record for a fancy vivid pink diamond,” said Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman for Asia Quek Chin Yeow.

Visit Sotheby’s to see all auction results from the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale.

A 17.16-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring • Image: Sotheby's