Rare 15.8 Carat Pink Sakura Diamond Sold For An Epic ?213 Crore

A rare purple-pink diamond with almost no defects has been auctioned for a price tag of $29.3 million in the city of Hong Kong.

Christie's

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The diamond is being auctioned by Christie¡¯s and is dubbed ¡®The Sakura¡¯, named after the cherry blossoms in Japanese. The diamond is touted to be a 15.8 carat purple-pink diamond set on a platinum and gold ring.

Christie¡¯s auction listed the diamond as ¡®fancy vivid¡¯ due to the depth of its colour as well as claiming that it is ¡®internally flawless¡¯ indicating that blemishes, if any, are only visible when put under a powerful microscope.

Pink diamond: science explained

While these overpriced pieces of carbon are often seen in white, the Sakura and other similar diamonds get a pink hue from a tweak in the inner crystal structure. According to Museum¡¯s Victoria, this is formed by intense heat and great pressure from all directions (non-isotropic stress) after the stone's formation in the earth

Christie highlighted that only four percent of pink diamonds get the ¡®fancy vivid¡¯ status and just ten percent of them weigh over 0.2 carats, making the Sakura extremely rare.

The diamond was showcased as a part of a larger auction that witnessed Christie¡¯s make sales of over $76.8 million in jewels. This also included another pink diamond that was called ¡®The Sweet Heart¡¯ that was sold for around $6.5 million.

Vickie Sek, chairman of Christie¡¯s Asia-Pacific department of jewellery, said in a statement on Christie¡¯s website ¡°The strong sell-through rates and exceptional prices achieved for top quality coloured diamonds and gemstones reflect a robust market demand.¡±

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Christie's

Who bought the Sakura diamond?

¡®The Sakura¡¯ was bought by an Asian private buyer on Sunday for a little over $29 million. The buyer¡¯s identity remains unknown for now. This sale, however, beat a previous record set by ¡°The Spirit of the Rose,¡± a 14.8-carat purple-pink diamond that was sold for over $27 million at an auction by Sotheby¡¯s in Geneva, Switzerland last year in November.

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The Sakura, however, isn¡¯t the largest or the most expensive pink-purple diamond to be ever sold. That title (according to CNBC) is currently held by ¡®CTF Pink Star¡¯ that weighs a whopping 59.6 carats and was auctioned at $71.2 million in Hong Kong in 2017.