Will June 8 see a new price per carat record for a pink diamond?

Dubai: Will June 8 see a new record for a pink diamond sold at an auction?

Sotheby’s believes there is indeed a good chance of that happening with the ‘Eternal Pink’, which is currently on display in Dubai and will have its auction in New York on June 8. With all of its 10.57 carats of sparkle.

“The current record for the highest price fetched by a diamond at an auction is $5.1 million per carat achieved last October,’ said Sophie Stevens, the jewellery specialist at Sotheby’s Dubai. “Our estimate for the eternal Pink is $3 million per carat and by the time of the auction, we are quite hopeful of beating the record – or come real close to it.”

The estimate pricing for the Eternal Pink is $35 million. In October 2022, the Williamson Pink Star fetched $57.7 million.

The Eternal Pink isn’t the only stone vying for attention at the Dubai Diamond Exchange in DMCC. There is the ‘Estrela de FURA 55.2’, the biggest – and most valuable – ruby ever to hit an auction. The price estimate has been set at $30 million.

This is the second arrival for the ruby in Dubai, with its earlier version – at 101 carats – being shown off last autumn. (The stone caused quite a stir upon its discovery in Mozambique.)

Both stones are mounted on rings, the better to see all their facets.

These are exceptionally vivid times when it comes to selling diamonds – or gems – at auctions. Investor demand for tangible assets keep growing, and the rarest sort of these have investors piling in. This is a space where inflation or headwinds for the global economy don’t seem to cut into the buyers’ choices.

The only cut that matters is in the stone they vie to buy. And these investors approach such opportunities with crystal clarity.

More to follow...