Editor’s Note
This article highlights the unveiling of the exceptionally rare ‘Spirit of the Rose’ diamond in Hong Kong. Its presentation at a major auction underscores the enduring fascination with unique gemological treasures.
On the 12th local time, the highly rare ‘Spirit of the Rose’ purplish-pink diamond was unveiled at a Sotheby’s auction house in Hong Kong.
According to reports from overseas media such as CNN, the unveiled diamond has been assessed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as one of the largest internally flawless diamonds ever, a 14.83-carat pink diamond.
The rough stone of this diamond, discovered three years ago in a mine in northeastern Russia, weighed 27.85 carats at the time of discovery. This was the largest pink rough stone found locally and was considered extremely rare from the moment it was discovered.
The diamond, which took a year to cut and polish, has drawn particular attention for being rated as the most perfect internally flawless diamond. The GIA classified its clarity as the highest ‘Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink’ grade, stating:
Sotheby’s, which is handling the auction, explained:
According to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), the value of pink diamonds is increasing faster than that of other colors. The price of pink diamonds of the same grade and size rose by 116% over the past decade as of 2019.
The highest-priced diamond in history to date is the 59.6-carat diamond known as the ‘Pink Star’. It was sold for $71.2 million (approximately 84.5 billion won) at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in April 2017. At the time, diamond expert Alexander Brekner commented:
Experts predict that the rarity of pink diamonds will increase further as the Argyle mine in Australia, owned by Rio Tinto, which accounts for 90% of the world’s pink diamond production, is scheduled to close this year.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s expects the ‘Spirit of the Rose’, scheduled to be auctioned in Geneva, Switzerland on the 11th of next month, to sell for between $23 million and $38 million (approximately 26.4 billion to 43.61 billion won).