A 10.57

A flawless fancy vivid purplish pink diamond will be auctioned in June for US$35 million, or US$3.3 million per carat, the highest price per carat placed on any diamond or gemstone prior to its sale, according to Sotheby's.

The auction house will feature the 10.57-carat cushion-cut stone, dubbed Eternal Pink, in its magnificent jewels auction on June 8 in New York.

The raw 23.78-carat diamond was mined by De Beers at the Damtshaa mine in Botswana in 2019, and was cut and polished by diamond company Diacore's team over a period of six months. It's the most vivid pink diamond ever to come to market, Sotheby's said.

The auction declined to disclose the identity of the consignor.

"The Eternal Pink's immense presence and great rarity make it comparable to ultimate masterpieces of art—far rarer than a Magritte or a Warhol," Quig Bruning, head of jewelry at Sotheby's Americas, said in a statement. "Combined with its exceptional clarity, it is not surprising that it would command the highest per-carat pre-sale estimate for any diamond to date."

The price record per carat was set by The Williamson Pink Star, a 11.15 carat fancy vivid pink diamond that sold in October at Sotheby's in Hong Kong for US$5.1 million per carat, or for a total of US$57.7 million. But it had a presale estimate of US$1.9 million per carat.

Pink diamonds are one of the rarest colored diamonds on earth. Of all the diamonds submitted to the Gemological Institute of America for grading, less than 3% are classified as colored diamonds. Within these colored diamonds, less than 5% are considered predominantly pink.

Pink diamonds have also become some of the most valuable jewels sold at auction, with three pink diamonds taking up the top five highest-priced diamonds ever sold at auction, according to Sotheby's.

The current world record for a diamond or any gemstone sold at auction is held by the "CTF Pink Star," a 59.6-carat oval, fancy vivid pink diamond which achieved US$71.2 million in April 2017 at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.

The Eternal Pink will be on public view in Hong Kong from Saturday through April 7, and then travel to Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai, Taiwan, and Geneva.