We apologise in advance for the serious jewellery envy you're about to feel. A rare pink diamond just sold for the mammoth sum of $71m (£57m), becoming the most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction.
The dazzling oval-shaped stone, known as the Pink Star, was bought by a buyer in Hong Kong just five minutes after bidding at Sotheby’s began, the BBC reported. Bidding started at $56m (£45m) and the gem eventually sold to jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, based on Hong Kong. It sold for $83m (£67m) in Geneva in 2013 but the buyer didn’t pay up.
The stone was found by De Beers in 1999 at a mine in Africa and was cut into its current shape over a two-year period. At 59.6 carats, the Pink Star is the largest polished diamond in its class to be put up for auction, reported the BBC.
Until now, the most expensive gemstone in the world to have been sold at auction was the equally stunning Oppenheimer Blue diamond, which sold for $50m (£40m) after just 20 minutes in Geneva last May.
"It's the largest pink diamond ever found in the history of humankind. It's an incredible colour to it,” Alexander Breckner, head of diamonds at jewellers 77 Diamonds, told the BBC. "And the sheer size of the stone already makes it so rare and so beautiful."
There’s a lot of love for coloured rocks at the moment, with many young couples shunning traditional diamonds in favour of more unique, coloured gems. For millennials, the choice is a financial one, as coloured stones, such as rubies, emeralds and sapphires, are cheaper than traditional diamonds. It's fair to suspect the Pink Star is probably out of their price range.
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