This 14-Carat Pink Diamond Mined in Russia Is Up for Sale
By Michelle Graff
michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com
October 13, 2020
Sotheby’s is putting this 14.83-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond up for sale at its upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction, scheduled for Nov. 11 in Geneva.
"Geneva—A nearly 15-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond mined in Russia a few years ago is going up for sale at Sotheby’s.
The auction house announced Monday it will offer “The Spirit of the Rose” at its Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva next month and predicts the stone will sell for between $23 million and $38 million.
Its planned sale follows Sotheby’s auction of a 102.39-carat D flawless diamond, which sold for $15.7 million last week, underperforming when compared to similar stones sold at auction in recent years.
The 14.83-carat diamond’s highest auction estimate, $38 million, is well below the $60 million one colored diamond expert predicted it would sell for back in August 2019.
Commenting on the stone’s sale, Benoit Repellin, who is heading the Magnificent Jewels auction for Sotheby’s, said: “Pink diamonds … have captured the imagination of collectors for centuries, making up five out of the 10 most valuable diamonds ever sold at auction.
“These exceptional sales, all realized in the last decade, are a testament to the growing appreciation and awareness of the great scarcity of these natural treasures around the world. With the supply of these beautiful stones becoming ever more limited, they are likely to continue to become even more prized.”
The mine that produces the bulk of the world’s pink diamonds, Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Western Australia, is set to close by year’s end.
The Spirit of the Rose is an oval modified brilliant-cut diamond that is internally flawless. Sotheby’s said the stone, which was graded by the Gemological Institute of America, is the largest vivid purple-pink diamond ever to appear at auction.
Its name is a nod to “La Spectre de la Rose,” an acclaimed ballet performed by the Ballets Russes company in Monaco in 1911.
Alrosa cut the diamond from the largest chunk of pink rough ever mined in Russia, a 27.85-carat diamond unearthed in July 2017.
The 27.85-carat piece of rough that produced “The Spirit of the Rose” was dubbed “The Nijinsky,” also a ballet reference. Alrosa recovered it from the Ebelyakh deposit in northeastern Russia.
The Spirit of the Rose will be on exhibit prior to the auction next month, though the diamond is not coming to the United States.
Sotheby’s will show it in ... "
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