Among the most captivating gems in the world, pink diamonds emanate intrigue and prestige unlike any other. Of the rarest diamond colors, compelling pink diamonds have fetched record-breaking prices at fine jewelry auctions through the decades. In this blog, we will be counting down the 10 priciest pink diamonds to ever sell at auction.
From the sweet 16.08-carat Sweet Josephine to the show-stopping 59.60-carat Pink Star, we will detail the unique characteristics and jaw-dropping sale prices of these visionary pink diamonds. As we progress through the list featuring these natural treasures, you’ll understand what bestows such value on these fanciful pink gems and get a glimpse at some of the most valuable diamonds on Earth.
10. Sweet Josephine
Weight: 16.08 carats
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva
Date Sold: November 10, 2015
Image source: GarnerBears
Fetching a record-shattering $28.5 million at a 2015 Christie’s Geneva auction, the Sweet Josephine diamond is a magnificent 16.08-carat fancy vivid pink diamond that captivated the attention of billionaire Joseph Lau. As the largest cushion-shaped vivid pink diamond certified by the GIA, the Sweet Josephine represented a prized trophy for Lau, who named the diamond after his young daughter.
Lau, a convicted felon banned from leaving Hong Kong, demonstrated his tremendous buying power in the rarified world of diamond collecting by purchasing the Sweet Josephine one day and a $48 million blue diamond christened the Blue Moon of Josephine the next.
9. The Sakura Pink Diamond
Weight: 15.81 carats
Auction House: Christie’s, Hong Kong
Date Sold: May 23, 2021
Image source: CNN
The Sakura Diamond is an extraordinarily rare 15.81-carat purple-pink diamond that sold for $29.2 million at Christie’s Hong Kong in May 2021, setting a record price per carat for a purple-pink diamond.
Cushion-cut with flawless clarity, this diamond’s exceptional color and clarity qualified it for a GIA monograph designation awarded to only diamonds with the most superlative gemological characteristics. The Sakura, meaning “cherry blossom” in Japanese, was the show-stopping centerpiece of a ring flanked by half-moon diamonds.
At over $1.8 million per carat, the Sakura set a new benchmark for price-per-carat paid at auction for a purple-pink diamond. Its record-setting price reflects the scarcity of large pink diamonds exhibiting such a rich, saturated hue along with flawless clarity.
8. The Unique Pink
Weight: 15.38 carats
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva
Date Sold: May 17, 2016
Image source: The Jewellery Editor
The Unique Pink astounded the jewelry world when it sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2016 for $31.5 million. Weighing an impressive 15.38 carats, this pear-shaped fancy pink diamond showcases mesmerizing color saturation and clarity.
Given a Type IIa pure carbon classification and VVS2 clarity by the GIA, The Unique Pink represents the pinnacle of a natural pink diamond’s quality characteristics. Its $2 million per carat auction price reflects the extreme rarity of large pink diamonds over 15 carats exhibiting such a rich, intense pink hue.
As Sotheby’s noted, only a tiny fraction of the world’s diamonds possess the requisite qualities to be classified as “fancy vivid,” making The Unique Pink a superior exemplar of this elite diamond color grading. This record-breaking gem now ranks among the most valuable pink diamonds to ever sell at auction.
7. The Pink Promise Diamond
Weight: 14.93 carats
Auction House: Christie’s, Hong Kong
Date Sold: November 28, 2017
Image source: Forbes
The Pink Promise is a sublime 14.93-carat pink diamond that commanded $32.4 million at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2017. Oval-cut with VVS1 clarity, its even vivid pink color saturation qualifies it among the most beautiful pink diamonds in the world.
As a rare Type IIa diamond with exceptional optical transparency, the Pink Promise’s pure structure allows light to fully traverse the gem, maximizing the resplendence of its delicate pink hue.
Its outstanding gemological characteristics propelled it into the elite ranks of record-setting colored diamonds. Set in a platinum ring accented by circular pink diamonds, the Pink Promise represents a crowning achievement of nature, chemistry, and human lapidary arts.
6. The Eternal Pink Diamond
Weight: 10.57 carats
Auction House: Sotheby’s, New York
Date Sold: June 8, 2023
Image source: Sotheby’s
Dazzling with mesmerizing pink brilliance, the 10.57-carat Eternal Pink Diamond entranced collectors when it sold for an outstanding $34.8 million at Sotheby’s New York in June 2023. Showcasing a divine purplish-pink hue bursting with saturation, this cushion-cut diamond achieved the ultimate trifecta of perfect color, flawless clarity, and elite Type IIa purity.
As one of only four fancy vivid purple-pink diamonds over 10 carats known to exist, the Eternal Pink represents a pinnacle of rarity. GIA documentation attested this diamond as a natural wonder, lauding its magnificent color intensity unmatched by all but a handful of fancy vivid pink diamonds in history. l.
5. The Princie Diamond
Weight: 34.65 carats
Auction House: Christie’s, New York
Date Sold: April 16, 2013
Image source: The Wall Street Journal
The storied 34.65-carat Princie Diamond traces its lineage back centuries to the famed Golconda mines of India. First owned by the Nizams of Hyderabad, this cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond eventually found its way to auction in 1960, selling for £46,000 to Van Cleef & Arpels.
Christened the “Princie” by Pierre Arpels after the son of an Indian maharanee, the diamond would change hands through the decades before selling at Christie’s New York in 2013 for an astonishing $39.3 million.
Displaying the highly prized “Golconda glow” red fluorescence when exposed to UV light, the Princie Diamond ranks among the largest and most significant Golconda-type diamonds, revered for their exceptional optical purity. Its record-setting auction price spotlights the Princie Diamond as one of the most valuable fancy-colored diamonds ever sold.
4. The Graff Pink Diamond
Weight: 24.78 carats
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva
Date Sold: November 16, 2010
Image source: Internetstones.COM
When the 24.78-carat Graff Pink Diamond came to Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010, it captivated collectors with its sublime beauty and crowning perfection, selling to renowned jeweler Laurence Graff for an astonishing $46.1 million.
Cut from a rare pink rough unearthed in a South African mine, this emerald-cut fancy intense pink diamond displays an inner fire and brilliance that epitomizes the finest gems fashioned by nature. Given the highest color and clarity grades by the GIA, the Graff Pink represents the pinnacle of what the most flawless, vibrant pink diamonds can achieve.
Its record-setting $1.85 million per carat auction price reflects the extreme rarity and elite status of large, museum-quality pink diamonds in an unrelenting market for these most wondrous treasures of nature.
3. The Pink Legacy Diamond
Weight: 18.96 carats
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva
Date Sold: October 13, 2018
Image source: Vogue France
The show-stopping 18.96-carat Pink Legacy Diamond dazzled when it came to Christie’s Geneva in 2018, selling for an astonishing $50.4 million and entering the record books as the most expensive pink diamond ever sold at auction.
First mined in South Africa a century prior, this rectangular emerald-cut fancy vivid pink diamond boasts a rich, saturated pink color enveloped in a platinum ring setting. Purchased by Harry Winston and aptly renamed the Winston Pink Legacy, this legendary diamond achieved over $2.6 million per carat, affirming its place in the rarefied air of the most significant and valuable pink diamonds in history.
As a world-class exemplar of a perfect pink diamond, the Pink Legacy’s sale price reflects the extreme lengths to which elite collectors will go to own a natural wonder combining supreme rarity, magnificent beauty, and intrinsic scientific value.
2. The Williamson Pink Star
Weight: 11.15 carats
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
Date Sold: October 7, 2022
Image source: National Jeweler
Dazzling with radiant pink brilliance, the extraordinary Williamson Pink Star sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022 for an outstanding $57.7 million. Boasting the ultimate trifecta of a flawless clarity grade, “fancy vivid” elite color distinction, and rare Type IIa chemical purity, this diamond represents the pinnacle of what nature can produce in a pink diamond.
Enhanced by trapeze and brilliant-cut pink diamonds in an 18K white and pink gold ring setting, the Williamson Pink Star merited elite recognition from the GIA for its combination of superlative characteristics seen in only a tiny fraction of the world’s diamonds. Its staggering $5.2 million per carat auction price propelled it into the rarefied ranks of the most significant pink diamonds ever sold.
1. The Pink Star Diamond
Weight: 59.60 carats
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
Date Sold: April 3, 2017
Image source: Only Natural Diamonds
In the world of rare gemstones, none captivates the imagination quite like The Pink Star Diamond, formerly known as Steinmetz Pink. Considered the most expensive pink diamond ever sold, The Pink Star Diamond weighs an impressive 59.60 carats. It was mined by De Beers in 1999 in South Africa, initially tipping the scales at 132.5 carats in its raw form.
Purchased by New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf and briefly renamed “The Pink Dream,” the Pink Star experienced an unexpected twist as Forbes magazine later revealed the auction transaction was unsettled, returning the gem to Sotheby’s inventory.
However, the Pink Star ultimately found its rightful place in history on April 3, 2017, when it was sold at an auction in Hong Kong for a remarkable $71.2 million to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, solidifying its status as an iconic and unparalleled treasure in the world of diamonds.
