HONG KONG (AP) 鈥 A pink diamond was sold for $57.7 million in Hong Kong on Oct. 7, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction.
The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star, auctioned by Sotheby鈥檚 Hong Kong, fetched close to $5.2 million per carat, exceeding the previous record of $4 million for sold in 2015.
The buyer was a private collector in the United States, Sotheby鈥檚 said.
The Williamson Pink Star draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson Pink Diamond presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star that at auction in 2017.
The Williamson Pink Star, the second-largest pink diamond to appear at auction, and Queen Elizabeth鈥檚 diamond both came from the Williamson mine in Tanzania. The mine is famous for pink diamonds, which are among the rarest and most valuable of the colored diamonds.
鈥淭his is an astounding result, proving the resilience of top diamonds in a shaky economy,鈥 said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds.
鈥淗ard assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability," he said. 鈥淪ome of the world鈥檚 highest quality diamonds have seen prices double over the last 10 years.鈥
___
This story has been updated to make clear that the final price for the Williamson Pink Star diamond was $57.7 million, not the previously reported 鈥渉ammer price鈥 of $49.9 million.
