A dazzling pink diamond named the Williamson Pink Star has sold for £52 million at an auction in Hong Kong – more than double its estimated value.
At 11.15 carats, the Williamson Pink Star is the second largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond to ever appear at auction.
Fine jewellery and engagement ring specialists at Steven Stone have revealed everything you need to know about the vivid pink sparkler – including the royal connection that is likely to have helped elevate its value.
The name “Williamson Pink Star” is a tribute to two other famous pink diamonds – “CFT Pink Star” and the “Williamson” stone.
CFT Pink Star
The CFT Pink Star is a 59.60-carat oval mixed-cut diamond which sold for a record $71.2 million when it went to auction in 2017 – five years on, it still holds the world auction record for any diamond, gemstone or jewel.
Williamson Stone
The Williamson stone is a 23.60 carat diamond that was given to Queen Elizabeth as a wedding gift by Canadian geologist, John Thorburn Williamson. Worn by the monarch in her Williamson brooch, it was discovered in his mine in Tanzania – the same mine in which the Williamson Pink Star was discovered.
As a rough gem, it weighed 54.5 carats, and Princess Elizabeth displayed it at St. James’s Palace ahead her royal wedding to Prince Philip. She later turned to diamond cutters Briefel and Lemer to transform the rough diamond into a faceted gem.
Worth £25,000,000, the Williamson brooch is the second most valuable brooch in the Queen’s collection.
“Found in a small number of diamond mines throughout the world, pink diamonds are one of the rarest coloured diamonds that exist.
The diamonds name is in tribute to one of the most famous pink diamonds, which is in the Queen’s Williamson brooch – worth a staggering £25,000,000, it’s the second most valuable brooch in her collection.
Pink diamonds are exceedingly valuable due to their rarity – the price can be much more than the price of a traditional white diamond. Typical white diamonds are usually pricier the more they lack colour, but with pink diamonds, the more vivid the colour, the more expensive the stone usually is.
The cushion shaped diamond sold for £52 million – though this is more than double its estimated value, when you take into account the rarity and rising price of pink diamonds, it’s not surprising. The diamonds link to the late monarch is also highly likely to have helped elevate its value.
ZACK STONE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, STEVEN STONE
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