Transcript
|What we're seeing at Sotheby's in London today is the largest Fancy Vivid pink ever graded by the GIA, therefore probably the largest of its kind in the world. And it's for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on 4 April with an estimate of $60 million.
Maria: I'm with David Bennett who is worldwide chairman of jewellery at Sotheby's, so David, tell me what are we seeing today?
David: The GIA say it's the largest Vivid Pink internally flawless diamond they've ever graded and it's a sensation, I mean it's an oval-shaped stone, it's as pink as can be and as bright as can be.
Maria: This diamond was mined by De Beers in Africa in 1999 and it came from a rough of over 132 carats.
David: This stone is so large compared with other things that it's off the scale how much bigger it is than all the others.
Maria: Just seeing the Pink Star you can understand that it's exceptional because of that amazing colour, but its size is really out of this world, and the closest comparison we can draw is with the Graff Pink, at 24 carats half the size, which sold for $48 million in 2010. Now this isn't quite the same colour grading, but it is also a type ll A making it very rare.
Maria: The Graff Pink is just around 24 carats isn't it?
David: It was Intense pink
Maria: Is that what's making the price difference do you think?
David: Yes, I mean Vivid Pink's the most highly prized of all the colours because it's the most saturated of the colours.
Maria: You mentioned earlier that this has come up for auction before hasn't it?
David: 2013, and unfortunately the buyer was unable to complete the purchase, so we've now, with our partners, decided it's about time to put it up for sale again. I think it's a wonderful stone and we'll see what happens on the 4th of April in Hong Kong.
