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RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s Geneva will present the Pink Star, a 59.60-carat, internally flawless, fancy vivid pink, type IIa diamond for sale on November 13 with a presale estimate in excess of $60 million. The Pink Star originated from a 132.50-carat rough diamond that was recovered by De Beers in 1999 and then cut and polished by Steinmetz Diamonds over a period of two years into its present form. The diamond was first unveiled as the Steinmetz Pink in Monaco in 2003 and then it was sold and renamed in 2007. David Bennett, the chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry division in Europe and the Middle East, said, “I have had the privilege of examining some of the greatest gemstones in the world over the past 35 years and I can say without hesitation, that The Pink Star diamond is of immense importance. Its exceptional richness of color – graded as ‘vivid pink’ by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) – combined with its extraordinary size, are characteristics that surpass those of any known pink diamond in state, royal or private collections. It is difficult to exaggerate the rarity of vivid pink diamonds weighing only five carats, so this 59.60-carat stone is simply off any scale and passes, I believe, into the ranks of the earth’s greatest natural treasures.” The Pink Star is more than twice the size of the 24.78-carat Graff Pink diamond, which established a world auction record at $46.2 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2010. Tom Moses, GIA's senior vice president, said, “The occurrence of pink diamonds in nature is extremely rare in any size. It’s our experience that large polished pink diamonds – over 10 carats – very rarely occur with an intense color. The GIA Laboratory has been issuing grading reports for 50 years and this is the largest pink diamond with this depth of color [vivid pink] that we have ever characterized.” The Pink Star will be showcased on a worldwide tour, traveling to Hong Kong, New York, London, Zurich and Geneva.
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