Rare giant pink diamond set to go under the hammer in Geneva

An exceptionally rare giant diamond is expected to be auctioned in Geneva in November, where it is expected to sell for up to US $35 million more than $53 million. The vividly coloured Fortune Pink' is the largest pink diamond of its quality ever offered for sale at auction, the Christie's auction house said on Monday.

The diamond, which goes under the hammer for the first time on November 8, has an estimated worth of between US $25 million and US $35 million.

The sparkling pink tear-drop formed stone, which has been mounted on a ring flanked by a large white diamond on either side, weighs exactly 18.18 carats.

Christie's highlighted that this was considered a lucky number in Asia, where it expected the diamond to draw interest from collectors around the globe, and Christie's senior jewellery specialist Angela Berden said that the weight in an auspicious 18.18 carats brought luck to the new owner.

It is a beautiful stone, it is extremely rare to find a pink diamond of this size, she said.

The colour saturation of this stone is so hard to find in nature, and then when you find a crystal with that weight, with that colour, and a very good clarity, that's just really rare.

While the Fortune Pink is the largest vivid pink pear-shaped diamond to go to auction, larger cushion-shaped pink diamonds have previously gone under the hammer.

Christie sold the 18.96-carat Winston Pink Legacy in 2018, which raked in over US $50 million - the highest per-carat price ever paid for a stone of its kind.

The giant Raj Pink diamond, weighing a full 37.3 carats, failed to sell at a Sotheby's auction a year ago, where it had been valued at up to US $30 million.