The record sale for any diamond was $48.5 million of the 12.03-carat polished “Blue Moon” diamond earlier this year.
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A 15.38-carat, pear-shaped pink diamond fetched a record $31.6 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva Tuesday. The diamond is expected to realize 28-38 million U.S. dollars (24.6-33.4 million euro) when it goes for auction in Geneva on Tuesday May 17, 2016.
“When you buy a Picasso, you pay a lot, but you know you are going to sell it for even more”, Laniado told AFP.
Britain’s Sir Philip Oppenheimer (1911-1995) led a powerful cartel called the Central Selling Organization for 45 years, tightly controlling roughly 80 percent of the worldwide diamond trade in a bid to prevent wild price swings. The world’s biggest and rarest diamonds tend to be more resilient to a slump in prices.
A “new world record” was set for a jewel by the late Paris-based jeweler Alexandre Reza – a fancy intense blue diamond brooch surrounded with diamonds sold for $13.4 million, he said.
Sotheby’s also sold a blue diamond, weighing 7.32 carats, for $17.1 million.
Christie’s has valued its total of 280 lots up for auction at $113m (£77m). Despite coming in at the low end of its pre-sale estimate, it beat the previous record held by the 16.08ct Sweet Josephine, which sold for $28.55 million at Christie’s Geneva last November.
In 2013, Sotheby’s sold a diamond for $83m (£56.8m), but its buyer could not afford the price and the auction house took the gemstone back.
David Bennett of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division, said: “It is hard to imagine a diamond that better illustrates the term Vivid Pink than this outstanding stone”.
Just as there is an established market for people who invest in vintage wines, classic cars and art, we are now seeing a growing global set of wealthy individuals from Shanghai to Dubai, who are growing in size and sophistication, who are increasingly recognizing the value of investing in unique items of luxury, including diamonds.
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Sotheby’s set its previous record for a jewelry auction a year ago, when it raised $161 million. “The trend will move to white diamonds”.
