Editor’s Note
On June 8, Sotheby’s will auction the “Eternal Pink,” an exceptionally rare pink diamond discovered in Botswana. This article explores why this unique gem is poised to be the star of the New York sale.
Discovered in Botswana a few years ago, the Eternal Pink, the world’s rarest and most perfect diamond, will be auctioned on June 8, 2023, in New York.
Even if it is not the world’s most precious metal, the Eternal Pink will be the center of attention on June 8 in New York. It is a very rare color, and none have been found for years. The auction house Sotheby’s is already working to make this diamond the queen of the upcoming June evening. For this, the diamond’s starting price is currently estimated at $35 million. This is where the auctions will begin, offered to the world’s wealthiest individuals. The price, however, could rise to nearly $70 million.
Unlike white diamonds, colored diamonds are the rarest in the world. According to the Gemological Institute of America, they represent only 3.3% of recorded diamonds. Among the millions of diamonds in circulation, you will rarely see a blue diamond and even rarer a pink diamond. There are only a few on the surface of the earth, making it a coveted object.
If they are rare in circulation, it’s precisely because they are also rare underground. The reason is quite simple: the process that leads to their formation is extremely complex. It is impurities such as manganese, nickel, or boron that alter the diamond’s structure and give it its characteristic color.
Quig Bruning, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry, Americas.
The Eternal Pink to be sold soon is a 10.57-carat diamond. It is a precious stone that is assured to have no internal flaws. Even with 10x magnification, this pink diamond remains pure. One of the many reasons justifying its starting price of $35 million.
Auctioned in New York, the pink diamond, however, comes from Africa. It was there, on the Black Continent, more precisely in Botswana, a country in Southern Africa, that the precious stone was discovered four years ago. For years, this country has become the favorite of diamond exploration and mining companies.
Botswana is recognized as a heavyweight in the diamond market. It is here that the world’s largest and rarest diamonds are often discovered. In 2021, the company Lucara Diamond discovered two diamonds there, one of 1,174 carats and another of 1,098 carats. Each was sold for over €40 million. However, despite all that mining companies extract from the country’s resources, the country itself gains only a small portion.
stated Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, last February.
If what returns to the country is unknown, there are revenue figures for the companies exploiting the country’s resources. For example, the South African De Beers generated a total of $3.5 billion in 2021. In the same year, the Russian-origin company Alrosa totaled $4.2 billion.
