Largest Purple-Pink Diamond Up for Auction at Christie’s Hong Kong
Christie’s is proud to present the Sakura Diamond—a 15.81 carat fancy vivid purple-pink internally flawless diamond ring as one of the star highlights of the Magnificent Jewels live auction in Hong Kong on 23 May.
It is estimated at US$25 to 38 million.
This immensely important, eternal masterpiece of nature possesses a number of distinct rare qualities:
Natural coloured diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable gemstones. In particular, pink colouration in diamonds is caused by the distortion of the molecular lattice which happens at random, making pink diamonds extremely challenging to cut from their rough form.
As fewer than 10 per cent of pink diamonds weigh more than 1/5 of a carat, this fancy vivid purple-pink internally flawless diamond is of an unprecedented size of 15.81 carats, which is the largest of its kind to be offered at any auction.
According to GIA, only 4 per cent of pink diamonds possess a colour deep enough to qualify as ‘fancy vivid’. This magnificent gem is graded ‘fancy vivid’ for its perfect display of strong saturation and remarkable pink hue with a secondary colour of purple, resembling the fascinating colour of cherry blossoms—appropriately coinciding with Spring. ‘Sakura’ is the Japanese word for the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom for a very short period indicating the beginning of spring.
Diamonds are formed deep within the earth’s crust, and the majority of pink diamonds are almost always included. In addition, pink diamonds fall under the rare Type IIa category of diamonds, which make up less than 2 per cent of all gem diamonds. The Sakura Diamond has been graded Internally Flawless, embodying its exceptional rarity and extraordinary optical transparency.
Vickie Sek, Chairman, Department of Jewellery, Christie’s Asia Pacific, commented, “Christie’s has offered some of the largest and the rarest pink diamonds in history across our global salerooms, highlighted by The Winston Pink Legacy sold in Geneva in 2018 that still holds the auction record per carat for any pink diamond. This season we are very honoured to continue this fine tradition by presenting The Sakura Diamond in Hong Kong. This exceptionally rare and magnificent wonder of nature represents a unique expression of identity and mesmerising beauty through its enthralling purple-pink hue, that will undoubtedly capture the hearts of discerning connoisseurs and collectors worldwide.”
