Will The Eternal Pink diamond set a new auction sales record? On display in Hong Kong, the rare jewel is set to fetch over US$35 million, which could beat The Williamson Pink Star’s price per carat

Apr 3 , 2023

A woman displays the 10.57 carat Eternal Pink diamond at Sotheby’s, on March 27, in New York. Photo: AP Photo

An extremely rare diamond called The Eternal Pink is expected to fetch more than US$35 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, potentially breaking records

Classified as ‘Fancy Vivid’ and ‘Internally Flawless’, the diamond was mined by De Beers at the Damtshaa mine in Botswana, and it took six months for artisans at Diacore in New York to fashion it

An extremely rare diamond called The Eternal Pink is expected to fetch more than US$35 million at a Sotheby’s auction, potentially breaking records as the most expensive price per carat ever to come to market.

The 10.57 carat rock will go on show in Hong Kong this week and later will be exhibited in Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai, Taiwan and Geneva. It will be up for sale on June 8 in New York as the showpiece lot in a Sotheby’s jewels auction.

The Eternal Pink will be featured in Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction on June 8 and is expected to achieve in excess of US$35 million. Photo: AP Photo

The cushion-cut diamond, which is mounted on a ring, has been described by experts as “glowing” and has the highest ranking possible for the quality of colour, defined as “Fancy Vivid”. It has the top score for clarity, known as “Internally Flawless”, meaning that no blemishes are visible under 10x magnification. It’s among the most chemically pure of all diamonds, which contributes to its transparency.

The 2.1-gram gem is comparable to “ultimate masterpieces of art”, according to Sotheby’s, which said it’s more unique than a Rene Magritte or Andy Warhol painting. “It is difficult to overstate its rarity and beauty,” said Wenhao Yu, chairman of jewellery and watches at Sotheby’s Asia.

The Eternal Pink was mined by De Beers at the Damtshaa mine in Botswana. It took six months for artisans at Diacore in New York to fashion it.

The Eternal Pink diamond has been classified as “Fancy Vivid” and “Internally Flawless”. Photo: AP Photo

The estimated price per carat for The Eternal Pink is US$3.3 million, giving it a chance to challenge the record set by The Williamson Pink Star, which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022 for US$5.2 million per carat. That gem was bought by a private collector based in the US for $57.7 million.

Three pink diamonds feature in the top five diamonds by value ever sold at auction. They have become rarer since the closure of the Argyle mine in Australia, which was the largest supplier of the stones. Less than 3 per cent of all the diamonds submitted to the Gemological Institute of America are coloured and pink is the rarest of those.