The Pink Star still sits in Sotheby’s inventory, but now the original cutter is a partner
Amid a flurry of high-profile, record-smashing colored-diamond auction sales, the 59.6 ct. Pink Star has found two partners, if not a final buyer yet.
The 59.6 ct. stone internally flawless pink seemed headed for the record books in November 2013, when a consortium bid $83 million for the stone—a bid price for a diamond that has still not been surpassed. But the sale was soon canceled, and Sotheby’s took the diamond into its inventory.
Recently, Diacore and Mellen have acquired an ownership interest in the stone, Sotheby’s tells JCK. Diacore bought the original piece of 132.5 ct. rough, and after two years, fashioned it into the Pink Star.
The auction house is the third partner in the stone, which remains in its inventory.
Financial terms of this new deal were not disclosed.
The news comes as two colored diamonds recently fetched all-time record prices for a diamond at auction. Last month, the Oppenheimer Blue fetched $57.5 million, beating the $48.5 million benchmark set in November 2015 by the Blue Moon.
Sotheby’s jewelry division worldwide chairman David Bennett said in a statement: “The explosion in demand for exceptional colored diamonds has been a driving force behind Sotheby’s recent string of record-setting jewelry sales. From the Graff Pink’s benchmark price of $46 million in 2010 to the $2.1 million price-per-carat achieved by the Unique Pink this month in Geneva, pink diamonds of the highest quality have been at the forefront of this market phenomenon. Such stones have been and always will be the very definition of rarity, with the Pink Star sitting at the pinnacle of this privileged list.”
Sotheby’s did not respond for comment about the current status of the Shirley Temple Blue, another high-profile stone that also failed to sell.
(Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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